Lydia's Perspective
My sister got sick. Red spots appeared on her body and she developed a fever. When I went to see an apothecary, I was told that I needed a medicinal herb called Veltora Grass to cure her. Furthermore, Veltora Grass was difficult to obtain and was not sold in normal stores, and even if it is available, the price was high. Furthermore, I was told that I would not be cured unless I took medication for a long period of time. Our family didn't have the money to buy expensive medication long term. My father was an adventurer, but he passed away a few years ago, and my brother and I also started working as adventurers, but we still didn't make much money.
The pharmacist offered us a deal. He said he would compound the medicine cheaply if we went into the forest and picked some medicinal herbs, and would take them if we picked some other herbs while we were there. We had no choice but to take the deal. My sister told me not to do anything dangerous for her sake, but my brother and I felt the same way. Just as she cared about us, we cared about her too. I persuaded my mother to leave my sister in her care.
My brother learned swordsmanship from my father and had a fair amount of skill. I had mana and could use a little magic. But when I tried to fight monsters, I couldn't use magic. Because of this, I held my brother back many times. I asked Adventurer's Guild and the adventurers, but they said I probably wouldn't be able to use it because of the tension. When I was feeling down, my brother kindly supported me.
"Lydia has ears that nobody else has." (Zect)
It seemed that I had better hearing than anyone else, and I was able to hear the sounds of monsters and animals stepping on branches and parting grass in the distance.
"That allows me to move around with peace of mind." (Lydia)
Thanks to these ears, I was able to spot monsters before they did, giving us an advantage in battle, or fleeing if we realized we were outnumbered. After that, in order to hone my skills, I listened to the stories of various adventurers and learned about the trails of monsters and where to look. At the same time, I searched for a weapon to fight with and discovered that I was better with a bow than a sword. I learned archery and became a fully-fledged adventurer. After learning our skills in the nearby forest, my brother and I decided to go to the forest where Veltora Grass was said to be.
We got on a carriage heading to the royal capital, got off along the way, and headed towards the forest. A deep forest, far from the city, and not often visited by adventurers. However, there were medicinal herbs in that forest that could cure my sister.
"It'll be fine. I'll protect you from monsters. Lydia, please look after me as usual." (Zect)
Even though my brother must be scared, he said reassuring things to me as I looked anxiously at the forest. I entered the forest feeling nervous.
"This is the ribbon." (Lydia)
There's something like a red ribbon tied to the tree. The path that pioneering adventurers took. I'd never seen it before. If you used this ribbon as a guide, you could proceed deep into the forest without getting lost. Following a path that adventurers had walked before could reduce the danger. We needed to thank the pioneers. Of course, it's not necessarily a safe route, but it reduced the risk for us.
We followed the ribbon as we went deeper into the forest. We moved forward little by little. "A hasty adventurer hastens his death," my father used to say. After my father married my mother, he went on to have a solo career. He did not take on dangerous jobs and instead only requested tasks that he could do alone. But my father was also killed by a monster. Another adventurer found my father's body by chance. He told me that he had retrieved the guild card and luggage and buried the body. My mother cried, and my brother and I cried too. My little sister cried along with us because we were crying. My father's words had stayed with me.
"Nii-san, what is this leaf?" (Lydia)
I found a leaf that looked familiar.
"Wait a minute." (Zect)
He took out a piece of paper. The pharmacist told me about some noteworthy medicinal herbs that could be profitable. It was a piece of paper with a copy of a picture of the medicinal herb on it.
"That's a bit different." (Zect)
My brother compared it to the picture. I also watched him from the side.
"The leaves are shaped differently, huh?"
Sadly, it seemed I was wrong. We moved forward. Then we got lucky and found some medicinal herbs. However, we couldn't find the Veltora Grass we were looking for. The plants that grew changed with the season. If we missed it now, it would be a year later.
"Nii-san, wait." (Lydia)
I called out to my brother in a small voice and used hand signals to tell him to be quiet. I heard the sound of stepping on a branch. I listened carefully. I heard it again. I used hand signals to indicate the direction from which the sound came. What number was this? From my experience, it's a wolf. I placed the arrow on the bow and slowly drew it back. I listened carefully.
...rustle.
I released the arrow. The arrow shot from the bow flew in the direction of the sound. I heard the sound of an arrow hitting something, then the sound of something falling.
"Phew." (Lydia)
I exhaled.
"It's okay now." (Lydia)
"I have no place here." (Zect)
"Only if it's far away." (Lydia)
I couldn't fight in close combat, but long distance combat was to my advantage.
"If they coma near me, there's nothing I can do." (Lydia)
Sometimes the arrow missed, and the monster attacked. At times like these, I could rely on my brother. I'd been hitting my targets more often recently, but at first, I missed them a lot.
I went to the place where I defeated a wolf. The wolf was lying on the ground with an arrow piercing its head. I pulled out the arrow and my brother started the dismantling. We wanted to collect all the materials, but the town was far away so we couldn't bring them back. We were able to take home magic stones, fangs, claws, and some meat for food. Normally, monsters would be attracted to it, so it would have to be buried or burned. However, my brother and I couldn't use magic, so we couldn't dig holes or burn it. Since no other adventurers were expected to come, I left the remaining materials and moved on.
We drew maps and marked where we found pioneer ribbons and medicinal herbs. The number of medicinal herbs we had acquired had also increased. However, we couldn't find the Veltora Grass we were looking for. After a few days in the forest, we come across a large cave. There was a ribbon nearby that seemed to indicate where the pioneers had entered. Someone had passed by. But there's also the possibility that it's a lie.
"...nii-san." (Lydia)
"Let's go in. If we feel it's unsafe, we'll turn back." (Zect)
It's dark inside the cave. I turned on the lantern. I could hear the sounds of bats flying from the ceiling and crawling on the ground.
"Nii-san, please stand behind me." (Lydia)
"Okay." (Zect)
I readied my bow. I heard the crawling noises. I drew the arrow and released it. Then a sound of an arrow flying through the dark cavern. There was a piercing sound. I repeat the same thing three times. There was no sound of movement.
"Maybe it was hit." (Lydia)
We moved forward. After walking a little further, we came across Snake, dead, pierced by an arrow.
"Your hit rate has been high recently." (Zect)
"Even if I miss, I believe nii-san will protect me." (Lydia)
With my brother by my side, I could fire my arrow with a peace of mind. If I were alone, I would be too scared to do it because of the thought of what might happen if I missed something. As we proceeded, defeating several Snake, we saw a light. It's outside. We managed to get out of the cave safely. We left the cave and went further into the forest.
"Wait a minute." (Zect)
As I continued to move forward, my brother grabbed me by the shoulder and stopped me.
"I feel like I've seen those flowers before..." (Zect)
My brother was deep in thought. I didn't think it was in the picture I got from the pharmacist.
"Oh, that's an exploding flower." (Zect)
"Exploding flowers?" (Lydia)
I'd never heard of it.
"Explosive flowers explode when you get too close, scattering seeds." (Zect)
"I don't mind if it's just scattering seeds." (Lydia)
"If you're not careful, it will penetrate your body." (Zect)
"......" (Lydia)
So much power...
"Why did you know that, nii-san?" (Lydia)
"When I asked some adventurers I know about this forest, one of them taught me by drawing a picture of it." (Zect)
My brother and I gathered as much information as we could before entering the forest to reduce the risk. Few adventurers entered this forest, no one was willing to teach us, and the ones who did demanded money. But there was an adventurer who taught us.
"The adventurer told me not to get too close. If we got hit in the leg, we wouldn't be able to walk and we would just become food for the monsters." (Zect)
"It's so beautiful." (Lydia)
They were still just buds, but they were colorful. Maybe it would be beautiful when it bloomed. As I was thinking that, I heard the sound of something approaching. I was having a conversation and it took me a while to realize it.
"Nii-san, something is coming." (Lydia)
My brother shut his mouth after hearing my words. Just when I thought it had arrived, a deer appeared. My brother and I felt relieved.But that was only temporary. The moment the deer entered the cluster of explosive flowers, it collapsed.
"..."
"..."
The fallen deer never got up.
"I'm grateful to the adventurer who told me." (Zect)
"Yeah" (Lydia)
If we had continued on without knowing, we would have suffered the same fate as the deer.
"Let's go back." (Zect)
"Yeah" (Lydia)
We decided to go back the way we had come.
"Nii-san, wait a minute." (Lydia)
"Another deer?" (Zect)
These footsteps were different. It's a sound I'd heard many times. Moreover, there was a lot of noise from stepping on plants.
"Probably wolves. There are a lot of them." (Lydia)
Explosive flowers in front, a pack of wolves in the back.
"Nii-san." (Lydia)
I looked left and right in silence.
Right or left?
"Go right. Then move to the other side of the exploding flower." (Zect)
"Then what" (Lydia)
"We'll lure the wolf towards the explosive flower. If they get too close, they might follow us and avoid the explosive flower. Let's move quickly." (Zect)
I nodded. There's no time to think. My brother and I moved to avoid the explosive flowers. All I could hear was my breathing and that of my brother. Somehow, we managed to get to the other side of the explosive flower before the wolves caught up with us. Then, when I looked towards the explosive flower, I saw a pack of wolves on either side of it.
"It's going to explode. Do you think you can take it down?" (Zect)
"I don't know." (Lydia)
The deer fell. It's unclear whether the wolves would fall. And those numbers. There was only one flower explosion. It might come through.
"If they come down to it, I'll stay behind, so you should run away at least, Lydia." (Zect)
"Nii-san?!" (Lydia)
"Please don't make me lose two sisters." (Zect)
If he said that, I would lose my brother and sister.
"It's a brother's duty to protect his sister." (Zect)
That being said, it was the sister's duty to protect her brother. I readied my bow.
"……Lydia" (Zect)
"It would be better if we could kill them, even if just a little. Besides, if we fire an arrow at them, they will come running towards us. If any of the wolves don't fall and come towards us, please." (Lydia)
"...got it." (Zect)
After saying that, my brother started yelling at the wolves.
"They're over there! They must have been following us!" (Zect)
My brother's hands were shaking. If the explosive flower hadn't exploded or if the wolf hadn't been fatally injured, we would have been attacked by that many wolves.
"Come quickly!" (Zect)
When my brother turned his back and pretended to run away, the wolves came running and entered the explosive flower. The explosive flower exploded and the wolves fell down. However, any wolves passing through the same area as the fallen wolf would not be affected by the explosive flower. I shot an arrow.
The wolf dodged, but an explosion occurs where it dodged. It's okay if I didn't hit them. They would run somewhere else. The wolves fall one by one due to the explosive flowers.
My arrows also hit, and their numbers dwindled. And not a single wolf reached us. Many wolves were lying among the exploding flowers.
"Is it over?" (Zect)
My brother lowered the sword he had been holding.
"Yeah" (Lydia)
There were still some wolves alive, but it's only a matter of time before they died. They couldn't attack us.
My legs gave way, and I sat down on the ground.
"Are you okay?" (Zect)
"Yeah" (Lydia)
"In that case, let's move quickly. Other monsters might smell the wolf's blood and come." (Zect)
The explosive flower exploded quite a bit. Even if the next monster comes, the same method couldn't be used. I put strength into my legs and stood up.
"Are there any monsters nearby?" (Zect)
I listened carefully. Beyond the explosive flowers came the sound of a monster.
"Maybe we should go back at once." (Lydia)
We decided to go around the exploding flowers and headed back. That was a good thing, because when we went in a different direction, I was able to find our destination, Veltora Grass.
Author's Note
When I came up with the idea for the exploding flowers, I wanted Yuna to use them, but then I realized that Yuna didn't need them, so it didn't happen.
Also, I wanted to include Lydia's perspective somewhere, so I decided to include it this time.
*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 will occur every 4 days.
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 Sanya 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.