Leaving the cave and looking at the ground, there were traces left where a giant Snake probably crawled.
I wondered if that's the only big Snake.
Even if my detection skill reacted to Snake, the difficulty was that it was difficult to tell the difference.
After making sure there were no monsters nearby, I turned off the Bear Light and checked the Bear's Map.
Once inside the cave, we turned left.
Will we go in this direction?
If I knew the entrance to the cave, I could return without having to go through the cave.
Well, it's a bit of a detour, but with Kumayuru and Kumakyu, it's a distance that didn't bother me.
"So, what should we do now? Veltora Grass, was it? Should we go and gather some first? Or should we go find the herb that Marne-san is looking for?" (Yuna)
First of all, I needed to decide where to go.
"Let's go gather some Veltora Grass. The herb I'm looking for is vague, and I'm not sure if it even exists. In that case, it's better to get some Veltora Grass first." (Marne)
"By the way, I haven't heard why the Marne-san and Yuna are in this forest." (Zect)
"We're looking for herbs as you do, you know." (Marne)
"Zect-san and his sister are familiar with the habitats of medicinal plants in the forest, right? Why don't you ask about that herb?" (Yuna)
Since we met someone who knew a lot about the medicinal herbs in this forest, we should ask him.
"That's right. Do you guys know where Lurevilla Flower is?" (Marne)
That's the name of the flower.
"Lurevilla Flower? Do you know them, Lydia?" (Zect)
"No, I don't know." (Lydia)
"They're red flowers that bloom on trees. I hear they're blooming somewhere. Have you seen them?" (Marne)
"No, I've never seen it. We don't know everything about this forest, after all." (Zect)
"We avoid places where there are monsters, so it might be in a place where there are monsters." (Lydia)
I thought the two of them would know, but unfortunately...
In the game, they would have appeared as an informant. But the reality was not so simple.
However, the medicinal herb that Marne-san was looking for was a flower that bloomed on a tree.
Could it be spotted from above?
"Okay then, Marne-san, get on here. And Zect-san and Lydia, get on Kumayuru." (Yuna)
"Are we going to ride the bear too?" (Zect)
"Conserve your energy. If something happens, you won't be able to move if you're tired, right?" (Yuna)
Moreover, the two of them had been in the forest for 10 days. Maybe they were more tired than they realized.
If I were to walk through the woods without bear gear, I wouldn't last a day.
"Kumayuru, please take care of the two of them, okay? You'll take turns later." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Kumayuru sat down and put Marne-san down.
After getting off from Kumayuru, Marne-san came over to where I was riding on Kumakyu.
I reached out, grabbed Marne-san's hand, and placed her on Kumakyu.
Marne-san was at the front and I was at the back.
Then, Lydia-san approached Kumayuru, who had sat down.
"Are you sure you want us to ride the bear?" (Lydia)
"If you walk, our movement speed will be slower, right?"
Making two people walked inevitably meant more breaks.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu had the stamina to keep running for a long period of time.
Lydia-san approached Kumayuru with shining eyes.
While walking through the cave, Lydia-san was concerned about Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
Apparently she wanted to try riding them after all.
"Umm, nice to meet you, Kumayuru-chan." (Lydia)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Lydia put her hands on Kumayuru's back and jumped on him.
"Wow, it's so soft. It feels good. Come on, nii-san, hurry up and get on." (Lydia)
"Oh, yeah." (Zect)
Unlike Lydia-san, Zect-san approached Kumayuru timidly.
"You won't bite, will you?" (Zect)
He seemed a little hesitant.
He was scared.
Was Kumayuru really that scary?
"Nii-san, don't be scared." (Lydia)
"I-I'm not scared." (Zect)
No, you look scared.
Still, Zect-san touched Kumayuru without being noticed by those around.
"Well then, let me ride." (Zect)
Zect-san got on behind Lydia-san.
Then, once he was sure that both of them were on, Kumayuru raised his hips.
"Well then, please show me around." (Yuna)
"Kumayuru-chan, go that way." (Lydia)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
We proceed with Lydia-san's guidance.
"Um, Yuna-chan." (Lydia)
As Kumayuru and Kumakyu started walking, Lydia-san spoke to me.
"Hmm? What?" (Yuna)
"Have you ever fought that giant Snake? You were used to fighting." (Lydia)
"I've never fought a Snake before, but I've fought similar monsters, you know." (Yuna)
Black Viper and the giant serpent. And many more.
"You've got to be kidding me. It's not normal to encounter a monster that big." (Zect)
Zect-san gave an incredulous look at my response.
Since coming to this world, I'd encountered many large monsters.
"And there's no fighting involved." (Lydia)
"Normally, we'd run away." (Zect)
Black Viper, for the boy who worked hard for his village.
Worms and wyverns that were about to attack the royal capital.
Cockatrices that attacked an elf village.
And a giant scorpion for a girl who worked hard for her family.
A giant snake, for a girl who worked hard to protect her country.
The ice dragon, for the people living in the frozen city.
And the Kraken, for seafood and rice.
Hmm? That last one seems a little different...
The Kraken, for the residents struggling to find food.
Yes, the reason I fought the large monsters was for the sake of the people who lived there.
I couldn't run away.
"How could you possibly encounter and fight such a big monster? I've never even encountered the giant Snake before."
"I haven't heard much about it from other adventurers either, huh"
"Are monsters that big rare?" (Yuna)
"There are monsters as big as dragons to begin with. But, among normal-sized monsters, large ones are special." (Lydia)
It seemed that giant monsters, giant snakes, krakens, and ice dragons were in a separate category.
"Snake isn't that big by nature. It's rare for it to grow that big. It's not often you come across such a monster, you know."
Originally it was the same Snake.
That's why the detection skill's reaction was Snake.
The same was true for other monsters.
How many times had I wished a name like "King" or "Jumbo"?
"Is Yuna-chan an adventurer from the royal capital?" (Lydia)
"I work in the royal capital, but technically I'm an adventurer from Crimonia." (Yuna)
"...Crimonia, it is pretty far away, isn't it?" (Lydia)
"You came from that far away?" (Zect)
"It's easy to get around because of these kids, you know." (Yuna)
I turned my eyes to Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
Well, actually I travelled using Bear's Transfer Gate.
"These kids are amazing, huh?" (Lydia)
And we continued on, chatting about trivial things.
From time to time, I checked with my detection skill, but all I could see were wolves and goblins in the distance, and they didn't seem to be coming any closer.
However, the further we went, the more monsters there were.
"There's some Ametra Grass up ahead, Marne-san. What do you want to do?" (Zect)
"The Ametra Grass is in the castle's herb garden, so that's fine." (Marne)
"So, are there a lot of medicinal herbs in the castle's herb garden?" (Zect)
"There are quite a few varieties. However, since they are only used for experiments and to compound medicines used by the royal family, the quantities are not large." (Marne)
Basically, the medicines used by the royal family were collected from the herb garden. This was because there was a possibility that medicines purchased from outside might be poisonous.
"Then, how about the Popompa Flower?" (Zect)
"I'd like that." (Marne)
With Marne-san's words, we decided to go and collect the Popompa Flower.
It's a name similar to a dandelion[1].
We headed to the medicinal herb habitat and collected Popompa Flower.
It was a yellow flower.
"Marne-san, what are the effects of that herb?" (Yuna)
"It's sunscreen. You can sell it to female adventurers." (Marne)
"Oh, is that it? I wanted to buy it too, but it was too expensive." (Zect)
"You didn't know?" (Marne)
"The pharmacist told me to collect them if I found them, but as for their effectiveness..." (Zect)
"Shall I teach you how to make it? It's easy to make." (Marne)
"Is that okay?" (Zect)
"If it's just for your own use, there's no problem." (Marne)
We left the surrounding security to Kumayuru, Kumakyu, and I, while Lydia-san and Marne-san started picking flowers.
Zect-san carefully put the flowers that Lydia-san had picked into a bag.
Maybe I should wear sunscreen too.
They said that sunburn could cause spots in the future.
"This forest really is a treasure trove of medicinal herbs, huh" (Yuna)
To me they just look like weeds or ordinary flowers, but to Marne-san, who was knowledgeable about medicinal plants, they appeared to be treasures.
I was glad Marne-san was having fun.
After picking the Popompa Flower, we moved on. We were making good progress, but then we came across a wolf.
What were Kumayuru and Kumakyu going to do? They looked at me with this feeling.
If we continued on this path, we'd encounter three wolves.
Even if they were small fry to me, I couldn't just go ahead in silence.
"Wait" (Yuna)
"Stop" (Lydia)
My and Lydia-san's words overlapped.
"Did you notice some monsters?" (Marne)
"Yuna-chan too?" (Lydia)
"Yeah, well." (Yuna)
"What? Are there monsters?" (Marne)
Marne-san asked in response to our reaction.
"Yeah, a wolf ahead." (Lydia)
Lydia-san even guessed the monster.
I could tell with my detection skill, but I was sure Lydia-san couldn't see it.
"How can you even know that?" (Yuna)
"I could hear the rustling of grass and the howling of wolves." (Lydia)
Wait, aren't your ears too good?
"I just have good ears." (Lydia)
She answers after seeing my reaction.
"No." (Marne)
Marne-san looked at Lydia-san and opened her mouth.
"No?"
"You're using magic, aren't you?" (Marne)
Marne-san said, looking at Lydia.
"Magic? I don't use it." (Lydia)
"So, it's unconscious, huh." (Marne)
"Marne-san, did you mean Lydia-san is using magic?" (Yuna)
"Wind magic, huh. It makes the wind drift around the area and gathers the sound around you, huh" (Marne)
Could it be the same wind magic I used when I tried to listen in on the conversation of the knights at a distance during the fairy incident?
"I didn't do that." (Lydia)
"So, you do it unconsciously." (Marne)
"Unconsciously..." (Lydia)
"You can't hear far away voices in the city, can you?" (Marne)
"Why do you say that?" (Lydia)
"You were unconsciously using wind magic on the surroundings to search for monsters. It's not dangerous in the city, so it's not activated." (Marne)
"…………" (Lydia)
"Also, you can use magic in the city, but you can't use magic in the forest."
"That is……" (Lydia)
Looking at Lydia-san's expression, she seemed surprised, as if she had a recollection of something.
"So even though you have mana, you can't use much magic, huh. Right now, you mana is being consumed little by little." (Marne)
"I thought I wouldn't be able to perform to my full potential when it came to the real thing." (Lydia)
There were people in this world who could not demonstrate their true abilities in a real performance.
"You were using mana, right? But thanks to that, you were able to find the location of the monsters and avoid any danger, and you were able to survive." (Marne)
"That's right. I thought you just had good eyes and ears." (Lydia)
Well, if it's unconscious, it's understandable that she would think that.
Perhaps it was an instinctive act to protect herself.
And then, I quickly took down the wolf that approached us.
Author's Note
They proceed smoothly into the inner part.
*We are currently accepting reservations for the paperback version of volume 11. The release date is October 4th. We will also continue to hold a lottery for acrylic stands, so thank you for your cooperation.
*Posting dates are Wednesday and Sunday at midnight.
If I will be taking a break, this will be announced in the postscript, and if I am suddenly unable to post, I will let you know in an activity report or on X (formerly Twitter).
[Book release schedule]
Book volume 20.5 was released on May 2, 2024. (The next volume, volume 21, is planned and in the works.)
The 12th volume of the comic was released on August 3, 2024. (The release date for the next volume, 13, has not yet been decided.)
The second volume of the comic spin-off was released on March 5, 2024.
The paperback version, volume 10, was released on May 2, 2024. (The deadline for the campaign to win a big acrylic stand featuring YUNA and SAANYA on the cover is August 20, 2024. 20 lucky winners will receive a prize.) (The next volume, volume 11, is scheduled to be released on October 4.)
*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.