Chapter 46

Hustel, the old man, dangled his fishing line into the stream, munching on a sandwich with one hand. I squatted on the rock next to him, chatting.

"Huh, you're an adventurer, huh?"

"Yeah, look. I use a bow."

I lightly stroked the longbow of the Black Maiden slung over my shoulder. The old man, seeing this, stroked his sparse beard.

"You seem to be a bit of a peculiar one. Coarse adventurers are satisfied with just swinging swords and casting spells, feeling like heroes. With an outfit like a hunter, you wouldn't even be considered an adventurer, let alone a hero."

"You're pretty harsh, old man. I don't really have hero aspirations, though."

At first, I called him Mr. Hustel, but it got too troublesome, so I just started calling him old man. He didn't seem to mind at all.

"No hero aspirations, huh? Then what do you do?"

"Me? I run a shop and go on adventures. More like, my main goal is to gather materials for the shop."

"Wow, you've built a solid foundation even at your young age."

"Well, it's just a shack, you know."

I said this self-deprecatingly, but the old man said I was well-established enough.

"I used to be an adventurer, too, you know."

"You were?"

"Look at my leg. It's a deep scar."

The old man pulled up the hem of his right pant leg to show me. There was an old scar there.

"I wanted to be a hero and took reckless risks, which led to this. Thanks to this, I couldn't move my leg by the time I was in my late twenties."

"You've had a tough time."

"Yeah, that's true. But at the same time, I made many discoveries. I lived day to day as an adventurer, but after injuring my leg, I couldn't earn a living. I used the little money I had to learn a few skills and build a foundation. This is the result."

He said this and took out a stick that looked like solidified tree sap, tossing it to me.

"Having a job that never runs out means you'll never be without work. I earn my living by continuously producing consumables that people always want. This is one of those, a pesticide."

"This is... a medicine? Can you [compound]?"

"Now, it's [pharmacy]."

He grinned.

"The few skills I acquired were [compounding]. At first, I couldn't even read. I had no one to rely on. In such a situation, I learned [linguistics] because I could get a job that didn't require movement as long as I could read. Then, I worked diligently, saved my daily earnings, and went to the library to learn [compounding] on my own."

He spoke realistically about his life. On one hand, I felt that his character was well-developed, but on the other, I found myself emotionally invested in this old man, Hustel.

"You seem to be smarter than me. You have a shop. So, while you have the time now, it's good to learn as much as you can. The library is a place where knowledge is concentrated."

Just as he finished saying this, his fishing rod bent. The old man skillfully reeled in a fish and threw it into the basket beside him.

"This [fishing] is my pastime in old age."

"You're quite versatile, old man."

"Not yet. Well, it's past noon, let's head back, shall we?"

The old man got up, dragging his right leg, and moved away from the stream. I also stood up, intending to go back with him, but the old man squatted down after walking a short distance and moved to squat again.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

I worried, even though I thought it was silly to worry about an NPC, but the NPCs in this game were so expressive that I couldn't help but worry.

"Don't worry. I'm just gathering some medicine ingredients."

"Really? What are they?"

The old man was picking moss and yellow flowers. Both seemed easy to find in this area, as I could see them scattered around.

"How do you use them?"

"You don't know? I'll impart some wisdom from my predecessors. This moss is called Numea Moss and is used to make ointments. Mix it with herbs and apply it to wounds before sleeping, and the pain will lessen. And this yellow flower is Pyrethrum, the raw material for pesticides. Although, this is something I learned from the library."

After collecting the required amount, the old man started walking again. I also picked up a moss-covered stone and a Pyrethrum, following him.

On the way, the old man lit the stick of solidified tree sap. It emitted a white smoke and a nostalgic smell of mosquito coils.

While it burned, the movements of the insects within sight clearly slowed, and their hostility towards us disappeared. This pesticide seemed to temporarily deactivate insect-type monsters. It looked very useful, so I decided to learn it.

"Old man, is there anything else in that stream besides moss and flowers?"

"Nothing. Just rocks and boulders. And fish."

"Rocks! Oh! That's it!"

"What? You suddenly shout!"

"Thanks, old man. I'll go back to the stream for a bit."

I hurriedly retraced my steps and headed for the stream. With the lingering smell of the pesticide, I could go straight to the stream without the enemies approaching.

I put away my weapon and jumped into the stream. The unexpectedly shallow water had a strong current, almost sweeping my feet out from under me. I bent my knees and reached into the water.

"Ugh!? It's cold!"

The parts of my body touching the water were bone-chillingly cold. I picked up a stone from the riverbed. It was the right size for an Enchantment Stone. I put it in my inventory and continued to pick up more.

Before I knew it, I was near the middle of the stream, with the water up to my waist, but I didn't notice and kept picking up stones. Then, I slipped.

"Whoa!?"

I slipped in the water and stepped into the deepest part of the stream, getting swept away. My clothes were soaked and heavy. Panicking from the sudden event, I struggled, but only water slipped through my fingers. I managed to grab a stone. Gradually, my consciousness faded, and I could feel myself rolling along the riverbed.

I was swept by the current and hit the rocks. Cold water flowed into my throat.

The force of the rapid water varied, and I was tossed and washed away. Each time I hit something, the air in my lungs leaked out, and the edges of my vision were invaded by darkness.

I held onto the stone until the last moment and lost consciousness.

I woke up in the central square of the first town.

Among the others who had respawned, I was the only one with wet hair, standing alone.

I was the only one receiving curious gazes.

Checking my body, I found myself completely drenched, with my clothes sticking to my skin and feeling heavy.

The dark color of my clothes prevented them from being completely see-through, but my female model's body was visible, drawing attention from the people around me.

"Ah... Uh..."

Oh no! This is embarrassing! Respawning is fine, but this is too much!

Internally screaming, I started running with all my might. Ignoring the heavy, water-soaked body and the mental fatigue from nearly drowning, I headed for Atelier.

As I ran away, I left a trail of yellow light, which might have left a strong impression.

I fled to Atelier and immediately logged out.