Chapter 61

The carriage driver took over, and they ran all the way to the destination forest.

After about an hour of travel from the rest stop, they arrived at the forest manager's cabin.

First, they talked to the caretaker.

An elderly man came out of the cabin. Apparently, there were many trees here that produced abundant sap. Merchants would come, pay the manager, and collect the honey.

The sap increases in sugar content from winter to early spring. This was the perfect harvesting season. However, due to the laughing vine incident, merchants no longer came around.

"The laughing vines attack the merchants, steal their possessions, and run away."

The purpose was a mystery. The stolen goods had not been found.

The shape was long and vine-like, but the overall form was a mystery. They seemed to appear by crawling on the ground.

"Um, I have a question."

Urgas raised his hand to ask why it was called "laughing vine."

"Well, the laughing vine binds its attack target with its vines and—tickle them, hehe."

"Oh, I see. Thank you."

It seemed that this type was not registered in the monster encyclopedia.

"That's why the monster research institute's officer was so eager to get information."

The captain was apparently cornered by the officer on his way back from the morning regular meeting. What a misfortune.

"By the way, he also said he wanted to talk about something else later. Directly from the director."

It didn't feel good.

Everyone must have been thinking the same thing.

"Sir, if you don't mind—"

As they were about to leave the cabin, they were handed a bottle, a knife, and a spatula.

"What's this?"

"These are the tools for collecting sap."

The knife had a spell inscribed on it. Cutting the tree with it would make the sap overflow.

"The trees here are managed by the lord, who is a wizard. The sap can only be collected with a magical knife."

"I see."

It was an incredible magic.

Apparently, the landowner here had been a wizard for generations and had shown no interest in selling independently, but after receiving advice that research funding could be earned, they started trading with merchants about a decade ago.

"If you don't mind, please taste the sap. It's very delicious."

Incidentally, the sap here was a high-end product, and a bottle cost one gold coin.

Hearing that, they all wanted to taste it.

"Sap... I've never eaten it before."

"The best way to eat it is to drizzle it on pancakes."

"That sounds good, delicious."

The sap was apparently filtered once and then boiled down to a honey-like consistency.

When it turned a beautiful amber color, it was complete.

"That color is even more beautiful than real amber—"

"Wow."

While they were entranced, the captain reminded them that their main purpose was not to collect sap but to exterminate the laughing vines.

"I know!"

She tapped her magic wand on the floor and stiffened her expression.

"You, no matter how good your equipment is, don't go to the front in battle."

"Understood."

After giving a good answer with a salute, they proceeded into the forest.

◇◇◇

The forest was lightly covered with snow. Their breaths turned white, and their fingertips were numb.

"Amelia, are you okay? Not cold?"

"Quue~"

Amelia's equipment consisted only of a hood, a handkerchief given in the morning, and a mantle made by Zara. She apparently wasn't cold because of the fluffy feathers.

The trees that produced honey were called sap maples, characterized by their yellow trunks. They now had no leaves, but they were known for their palm-like leaves.

They found one immediately.

"Hey, Riririsu. You must have wanted to lick the sap from this tree. Try cutting it a bit."

The captain allowed them to taste the sap because it was distracting them from their mission. It seemed they had been prioritizing the sap over the mission. A bit harsh, but since they had the chance, they decided to taste it.

When they cut the trunk with the knife inscribed with a spell, the sap slowly overflowed. They scooped it up with the spatula.

It looked surprisingly watery and was colorless. It would become thick when boiled down.

They scooped some with their fingertips and licked it.

"—Wow, it's sweet!"

It had a rich sweetness and a soft flavor that spread in the mouth. The scent of the sap was good, like refined caramel.

Everyone was surprised when they tasted it.

They definitely wanted to collect it and use it in cooking.

"Are you satisfied?"

"Yes, thank you."

They would collect it later. They resumed their investigation.

"Still, a vine that crawls on the ground is a mystery."

Urgas muttered.

The most famous vine-type monster was a strange plant that resembled a radish. It grew vines from above and attacked by strangling the enemy.

However, according to the report, no one had seen the strange plant. Everyone had been attacked by invisible vines that crawled from the ground and tickled them.

"Quue!"

"Huh?"

Amelia said, "Enemy approaching!"

Listening carefully, they heard the sound of a quadruped approaching from the front. Gal seemed to have noticed and was reporting the number to the captain.

Verry, the deputy captain, shouted.

"—Everyone, get ready for battle. Riririsu, the medic, stay back with Lichtenberger the mage and Amelia."

Everyone readied their weapons to face the monsters.

What attacked them were gray wolves. They were larger than Amelia, with horns protruding from their foreheads. There were ten of them, a pack, perhaps. A bit too many.

"Quuee!"

Amelia stood in front of me and Liette, spreading her wings. She seemed to be protecting us.

"Riririsu, the medic, be aware of the rear."

"Understood!"

The largest wolf growled lowly, likely the leader of the pack. Then, the gray wolves pounced one after another.

The captain raised a large black sword and met the gray wolves. He dealt a sharp, heavy blow as a greeting. The severed head flew through the air, and the blood that followed drew an arc.

Gal struck the gray wolves that pounced one after another, and Verry, the deputy captain, tore their necks with dual swords when they staggered.

The gray wolves that slipped past the captain, Gal, and Verry were cut in half by Zara.

Urgas, who was watching from the rear, aimed and shot an arrow at the leader of the gray wolves. The arrow hit the spot below the horn perfectly.

"It doesn't seem like I need to do anything."

"Yes, everyone is strong."

"Quue~"

They were so strong that I was a bit too relaxed.

I didn't notice the presence of the vine sneaking up from above, only paying attention to the rear.

"—Huh?"

Something wrapped around my waist.

"Quuee!!"

"Hey, Mel, no way!?"

"Aaaaah~!"

By the time I noticed, I was lifted up and hanging in the air.

The thing wrapped around my waist was a laughing vine. I didn't expect it to attack from above.

"No, Mel!"

"Zara, focus on the battle!!"

I felt bad for Zara being scolded by the captain because of me.

Still, it was embarrassing. Hanging upside down, my coat had flipped up, exposing my legs in pants. Moreover, vines were wrapping around my hands and feet.

"Wait, Mel. I'll save you—"

"Hold it, Lichtenberger the mage! Don't cast magic!"

This time, Verry, the deputy captain, warned Liette.

They had seen the disastrous magic explosion before. I was a bit scared too.

"Urgas, please rescue Riririsu."

"Understood!"

The captain gave the order to Urgas. I felt bad.

I intended to stay quiet until I was rescued, but a second vine attacked me.

"—Huh!?"

The vine slipped into the gap of my shirt and touched my skin.

Then, it started to stroke my stomach.

"Aha, ahaha, stop, hahaha!"

In the tense forest, only my laughter echoed emptily.

The wriggling vine. With my hands and feet restrained, I couldn't resist.

The vine's actions didn't stop there.

"Aha, huh, uh, ah, aaaaah~!"

I started to swing back and forth.

Probably to avoid Urgas's attack.

It was ticklish, my vision was spinning, and I couldn't take it anymore—

In the midst of losing consciousness, I heard Amelia's roar. It was a low, rumbling sound that made the air vibrate.

"Quueeeeeee!!"

A loud flapping of wings was heard.