Chapter 8

I wake up to the sound of the bell. I feel like I've been living a very healthy life since I came to this world. Getting up at 6 in the morning and going to bed soon after it gets dark, it feels like I'm an old man.

Since the blacksmith told me to come back the next day, I decide to go look for herbs again today. I only have enough money for two days' stay at the inn, so I can't really feel at ease yet.

First, I need to eat.

I go to the same restaurant as yesterday and show the key.

"Welcome back!"

As always, she's in high spirits... It would have been nice if it was just a good day for her...

Well, thanks to her, I'm wide awake. Her energy is better than any wake-up call!

She hands me the menu with a strong grip, remembering me from yesterday.

"Which one today!?"

I wish she wouldn't use so many exclamation marks. But the food is delicious, so I'll take it as compensation.

"I'll have the orc set, please."

I hand over two copper coins. The orc set is 80 tel.

As always, the naming is straightforward. It's better than fancy names that make no sense.

If someone said "Mireliger a la Panna con i Broccoli," I'd only know it probably has broccoli.

The orc I know is humanoid, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone. Well, they are monsters, after all.

"Sure thing!"

The marinated grilled meat and the same bread as before are served.

I'm in a welcoming state, saying things like "It's ready already!" "So fast!" "Here it comes, the food's here!" How does she cook it so quickly? The trust level between Earth and this world is completely different.

I eat the food in silence, finishing it quickly. I never had the habit of saying "itadakimasu" even on Earth. I usually ate alone...

It's still delicious. Compared to gargon meat, it's milder but the portion is larger. The 10 tel difference is probably here.

After finishing, I think about buying today's lunch box but remember the item box and decide to buy in bulk.

"I'd like to buy about 10 breads for lunch. Is that okay?"

"Item box, huh! I don't have that many prepared, so how about tomorrow!? If you can wait a bit, I can make them now, but what do you think!?"

"Then I'll take 10 tomorrow, and one today. I'll pay for all of them now."

I hand over a silver coin.

"Sure thing! Leave it to me!"

I take one bread and 45 copper coins, put them in the item box, and leave the shop.

Today, I decide to go straight to the forest and fully gather herbs without going to the guild.

The morning city has a different kind of vitality from the evening. Various shops are preparing to open.

There's nothing particularly special about the types of shops. Restaurants, greengrocers, butchers, and clothing stores.

The greengrocer didn't have anything particularly unusual, but the butcher had a lot of monster meat. They probably get it from the guild. On the other hand, there's no ordinary meat. Green wolves, orcs, gargons, and goblins.

What, goblin meat!?! While orcs are humanoid, goblins have a dirty image...

Maybe the image of goblins in this world is different from Earth.

Goblin meat is the cheapest, but it's not that much cheaper, only about 20% cheaper than green wolf meat.

Orc and gargon meat are nearly double the price of green wolf meat. Since the request ranks are higher, the supply might be low.

There's a charred green wolf in my item box, but can it be eaten...? I don't really want to eat it, and I don't think it will sell, so I'll leave it alone. I hope I never have to eat it.

The clothing store isn't much different from Japan. The only difference is that the sewing is done by hand instead of machines.

However, most of the clothes are second-hand, and the only new clothes are custom-made. In this world, clothes don't get dirty with normal use, and even if they get muddy, they can be easily cleaned by soaking them in water. Therefore, many people wear the same clothes for a long time, and the reuse of second-hand clothes is popular.

However, when clothes get torn or the fibers are damaged, they don't automatically repair themselves. After long use, they do wear out and fray. Such clothes are bought by clothing stores, repaired, and sold as cheaper second-hand clothes or used as materials for bags and other items.

So far, the capacity of my item box seems bottomless (I haven't used it much), and if the initial MP and capacity are related, my item box must have a very large capacity. If that's the case, I won't need to use cargo bags.

While walking, I casually appraised the shopkeeper of a fairly large butcher shop and discovered a new fact.

Name: Minie

Age/Race/Gender: 15/Human (slave)/Female

Level: 5

HP: 27/27

MP: 8/8

STR: 7

INT: 4

AGI: 7

DEX: 8

Skill: Life Magic

She's a slave. I thought I had appraised many people in the evening, but I didn't see any slaves. Her nutritional status doesn't seem too bad, and she doesn't wear a collar, so she doesn't look like a slave at first glance.

However, there are slaves in this world. Well, I have no intention of buying a slave, and I don't have the money. I don't know how much slaves cost, but the shopkeepers of small shops are ordinary people, so they're not cheap. Being human, they also have maintenance costs. Feeding them dog food and making them work without rest might reduce the costs, but if I were to use a slave, I wouldn't do that. Even if I did, it might cost more in the long run due to health issues.

While thinking about this, I reached the gate, so I stopped thinking, tightened up, and went outside. I arrived earlier than when I started gathering herbs yesterday, so I expect good results today.

Yesterday, I walked around gathering herbs (Zunana grass), but today I jog to gather them. Aim for 400!

I jog to a spot marked with a ▼, quickly crouch down, break the Zunana grass at the base, stand up, and store it in the item box, then start running again. The whole process takes only about 3 seconds!

I gather the Zunana grass with remarkable agility. I haven't taken a break except for lunch, but I continue to gather herbs without showing any signs of fatigue, concentrating intensely.

Finally, I realize it's getting dark. I've gone quite deep into the forest. It's dangerous to stay in the dark, so I hurry back.

The evening forest is quite eerie, darker and with poor visibility due to the trees. It feels like monsters could jump out from strange places. I don't want to stay any longer; I want to get back quickly.

I equip my shield just in case and start running up a gentle slope. Thanks to some innate talent, I run without feeling the fatigue from earlier.

However, a pack of green dogs attacks me!

"Growl...""Grrr...""Grrrr..."

There are five of them. Maybe because there are many of them or because it's night, one of them doesn't immediately attack like the last time. I narrowly dodge it.

I imagine a fireball flying towards the center of the remaining four. The fireball isn't very powerful, but it causes high damage to the green dogs because their fur catches fire.

Two of them successfully dodge, but the other two get burned on their front and back legs. The one with the burned back leg catches fire all over its body.

Four green dogs left.

"Bark!"

Two of them attack simultaneously, but I dodge one and block the other with my shield. Thanks to my innate talent, I can move quite well.

When the attacks stop, I cast another fireball near the injured one. Fortunately, the injured green dog and the one that attacked me turn red. They're wolves, though.

／Tetetere／ Two left. I want the meat, so I'll use a stone spear to take them down. I seem to have leveled up again.

I throw a stone spear at the green dog in front of me. It took about 0.5 seconds but hit successfully. The other green dog was on my left... huh? It's gone. Where did it go?

Right after that, I feel a big impact on my left arm. Fortunately, the green dog hit my shield.

I lose my balance but quickly recover and thrust another spear into the green dog. It hits the neck, and the green dog stops moving.

That was close. Fortunately, it hit the shield, or I would have been injured. Green dogs have decent STR, and being bitten in the wrong place could be fatal. The town is far away. If I'm going to be an adventurer alone, I need to find a way to deal with multiple enemies at once.

I throw the green dogs into the item box and run back to the town. It took about 30 minutes to see the town's outer wall. I finally feel relieved when I get back.

"Bark!"

"Aiee!? A wolf!? Why a wolf!?"

A green dog suddenly jumps at me. Because I was running, the green dog passed behind me and landed, but I screamed in surprise.

Fortunately, it was alone, so I quickly take it down with a stone spear. No mercy for green dogs.

I put the corpse in the item box and head back to the town without letting my guard down. It seems I need to consider scouting as well.

I show my ID and finally relax as I pass through the gate. I managed to get back safely.

I decide to sell the Zunana grass and green dogs at the guild. I'd be happy if the charred green dogs sell, but it's probably unlikely.

"Hello, Sally. I'd like to sell some Zunana grass."

"Hello, Kaede. Did you bring a lot of Zunana grass again today?"

Sally greets me with a smile as usual when I enter the guild. I wonder when they take a break.

"Yes. I got so absorbed in gathering Zunana grass that it got dark on my way back. I was attacked by a pack of green dogs."

"What, are you okay!? Did you get hurt!?"

She's quite worried about me. She's a good person.

"Yes. It was a pack of five, but I managed with fire and earth magic. This shield helped a lot."

I show the shield I bought from Dovelaug's shop. It should have been damaged by the green dogs' attacks, but there's not a single scratch on the iron shield.

"Oh, that shield... Is it from that Dov... No, never mind. It's a good shield."

It seems to be a good shield. As a guild member, she probably knows Dovelaug's blacksmith shop, so that's probably why she reacted that way.

"Yes. But to deal with multiple enemies at once, I need more firepower and faster casting."

"No, that's a great achievement for a solo mage! At least it's not a G or F rank achievement. Mages usually carry long staves, provide firepower from the back, or use healing magic. They're not supposed to face groups of monsters with a shield. How do you fight?"

It seems solo mages are unusual. Maybe I should strengthen my party. But if I find new party members, I don't know if they're trustworthy, and with my talents, I might outpace them quickly.

I'm only level 3, but my stats are already higher than most adventurers I've seen. There aren't many high-ranked adventurers in this town, but if I form a party, I'll be with those people. I'll put the party on hold for now.

"Well... I dodge and block with the shield while casting fireballs or stone spears, like, 'thud.'"

"That's not normal. When casting magic, you need to concentrate for at least 3 seconds. You can't just cast while blocking with a shield."

Oh, right, Dovelaug said something like that.