Chapter 59

......My head feels heavy.

Hmm, this feeling is similar to the hangover I had the day after my senior from my part-time job took me to an izakaya to celebrate my 20th birthday and made me drink a lot of plum wine and chuhai.

Back then, I got scolded quite a bit by Milli, and I clearly remember having a headache (I don't remember how I got home).

When I opened my eyes—there was a familiar ceiling.

I slept in the same room yesterday—this is the ceiling I stared at all night. The stain that looks like a human face when you look closely is proof that it's the same room.

(Wait, wasn't I in a single room?)

"Where am I—"

Looking at the wall, I saw a lamp hanging, and it was already dark outside the window.

"Master, you're awake."

Haru peered at my face.

"Haru... why am I—"

"It's due to the loss of MP causing unconsciousness."

"Does losing MP make you lose consciousness?"

...In games, you just can't use magic, so I thought it would be the same in this world.

I've never run out of MP before.

Checking my current MP, it had recovered to 30.

"I'm sorry. Even though I knew you were a lost traveler, I didn't explain it to you."

"No, it's my fault. Don't worry about it, Haru... Is Carrot in the other room?"

"Yes, she was watching over you until just a moment ago, but after confirming that your condition had improved, she decided to take a turn watching over you. By the way, how about dinner? I prepared a stew, but it has cooled down."

A cold stew was placed on top of the chest next to the bed.

Hmm, I'm not really hungry right now.

I stared at Haru.

White hair, white ears, white skin.

"I'll reheat it."

Turning around, I saw a white tail poking out from under her skirt.

I slowly got out of bed and hugged Haru from behind, putting my right hand inside her skirt.

I could feel the texture of her bloomers.

With my left hand, I grabbed Haru's nicely sized chest.

"Haru—since we couldn't yesterday—"

I changed my job to a wanderer.

"However, Master. The walls of this room are very thin, and if you make a sound, Carrot will hear it."

"...It's okay, for that reason—"

I smiled and said,

"Silent Room!"

I cast the spell. Now, no sound would leak out no matter what we did.

A light room enveloped me and Haru, and the area around the bed.

This magic could be said to be specifically designed for doing "that" in an inn.

To be honest, ever since I heard the explanation of this magic, I had been thinking about using it this way.

"Then—I'll take care of you."

Haru turned around and led me to the bed.

And so, my night began.

※※※

Breakfast. The inn lady reheated yesterday's stew, so I was able to eat a meaty stew.

It should have been the best breakfast.

But the reality was an awkward atmosphere dominated the scene.

The level of my wanderer job only went up by 1.

There was nothing I could do about it.

Especially, Carrot looked very awkward, but it was definitely my fault.

I completely overlooked the biggest flaw of the Silent Room.

By setting the range of the Silent Room to just the bed and its surroundings, the sounds of our intimate moment didn't leak out.

However, I also couldn't hear the knock on the door.

When Carrot knocked and opened the door to take over watching over me, the expression on her face is still vividly etched in my mind.

I should have locked the door, but if there was no response to her knocking, Carrot might have gotten the key from the inn lady and opened the door with her.

If that had happened, it would have been even worse.

From now on, I need to set the range of the Silent Room to just enough to include the door, but if it's a bit wider, the light barrier will leak out of the room, so it will be quite nerve-wracking.

"Um... Ichino-sama... about yesterday—"

"...Carrot... I'm sorry. Please forget about yesterday."

"...Yes."

That's how it ended.

Haru was also a bit down.

To Haru, Carrot is like a younger sister, so it must have been painful for her to be seen doing "that" with me.

I have a younger sister too, so I understand.

"Anyway, I'm sorry for running out of MP yesterday. I'll be more careful from now on."

"Master has much higher MP than a normal alchemist, so it's understandable to get careless."

"However, I checked the iron balls you made yesterday, and the quality has clearly improved. You're truly amazing, Ichino-sama."

The table in front of us was filled with unnatural smiles.

Yeah, the stew is definitely meaty.

※※※

We got on the carriage and went down the mountain.

I was looking for a job that wouldn't use MP to gain experience until my MP fully recovered, but I couldn't find anything, so I decided to continue using Aura Detection to check for nearby monsters.

However, there were no monsters along the road, only a few far away.

By midday, my MP had fully recovered, so I decided to try alchemy.

I took out a box of iron ore from my item bag.

By the way, as a result of working hard until I lost consciousness yesterday,

the Apprentice Alchemist level was 37, and the Alchemist level was 18.

The skills I learned are as follows:

[Apprentice Alchemist Skill: Obtained Metal Refining]

[Alchemist Skill: Metal Refining upgraded to Metal Refining II]

[Alchemist Skill: Obtained Magic Metal Fusion]

Metal Refining is a technique to remove impurities from metals. The rank determines the types of metals that can be refined.

Magic Metal Fusion is a skill to fuse magic metals, which Carrot told me about before.

Since I only have Goblin Iron right now, this skill isn't relevant to me.

I also got more recipes, but it seems I still can't refine Mithril from ore.

To make Mithril, I need to level up my alchemy.

Currently, I have about four times the MP of a normal alchemist.

The MP recovery rate depends on the maximum MP, so my MP recovery rate is also four times that of a normal alchemist.

Moreover, due to my blessing, I grow 400 times faster than others.

In other words, if I gain experience only through alchemy without fighting monsters, I can grow 1600 times faster than other alchemists who level up the same way.

Of course, rich alchemists buy Mana Potions to level up, so I can't compete with them.

However, if I level up that way, I can do things that other alchemists can't, like turning Mithril ore into Mithril. Then, I can sell it for money and buy more Mana Potions.

It's a virtuous cycle.

Money attracts more money.

Mana Potions, when will I be able to get them?

They're not sold in regular stores, so I'll need connections to get them.

"Haru, please stop the carriage around here!"

Carrot said.

Is it a bathroom break? I thought,

"Ichino-sama, there's a place nearby where Mana Grass grows in abundance."

"Mana Grass?"

Magic glass?

No, she said it grows in abundance, so it must be a plant.

The difference in pronunciation between "glass" and "grass" caused this misunderstanding.

Magic grass—probably a medicinal herb?

"Yes, it's an ingredient for Mana Potions. A hunter from the village found it by chance and told me about it. Since I'm continuing as a merchant, I can't join the Alchemist Guild, so I have to find medicinal herbs myself."

So, she was looking up information about medicinal herbs yesterday.

Following the landmarks the hunter told her, we entered the forest. Watching Carrot get her hands dirty while picking the magic grass, I thought it wouldn't take long to get enough for a Mana Potion.

I wanted to help, but if I picked the herbs, Carrot wouldn't gain the experience.

Instead, I decided to clean them with Purify when she was done.

Review—Everyone thinks the same about the use of the Silent Room.

Well, it's a very convenient spell if used creatively.

Tomorrow and the day after. I'm going on a two-day, one-night trip.

I might not be able to update, so I'm reporting just in case.

The next update will feature Joffre & Elise in a casual conversation.