Chapter 14

"……Hey……what happened……"

While gathering sage leaves and defeating monsters to progress deeper, ……a bit larger wild boar appeared a while ago. Thinking it might be a high-level individual, I fled to the west where the trees were densely packed, cornered it in a narrow place where it couldn't charge, and defeated it……but when I looked around, the surroundings were quite devastated.

"Hmm. The sage leaves that fell from the trees……were they forcibly taken or dropped young leaves? They can't be used if they're like this……there are a lot of adventurer footprints around here, so they must have broken branches and proceeded down this path."

In front of me is a sage tree. The sage leaves that fall from this tree are ingredients for concoctions and the purpose of today's gathering……but there are an unnatural amount of leaves around the tree. Moreover, when I picked one up and checked the back……I realized they were young leaves.

Looking at the footprints, there are several types of shoe marks, so it's likely they were in a party……but it seems they were advancing without caring about the forest destruction.

"It's more difficult to find usable sage leaves……young leaves don't have the necessary elements……all I can do is gather the unusable young leaves at the base of the tree……"

I didn't check each leaf, but at a glance, they are definitely unusable……

The monsters around here also seem a bit angry……anyone would be upset if their territory was ravaged. Unless they attack, I'll avoid killing them.

While investigating the area, I noted the extent of the damage on the map.

"Well, this seems to be the deepest point. There's a cliff ahead, so I can't go further……there are no particular monsters. I should check the opposite side as well. Hopefully, there's nothing there."

I investigated until it got dark, but there didn't seem to be any abnormalities except for the damaged areas. It's strange that they started destroying the forest from the middle slope to the deeper areas……the entrance area was left untouched, and the destruction suddenly began halfway.

At first, there were many cuts from swords or blades, but it seems some magic was used as well. Actually, it's better not to use fire magic in the forest. The trees were scorched, and there was a possibility of a forest fire. There were puddles around, so it seems they did try to extinguish the fire.

There were fewer monsters than I expected……or perhaps they were reduced because they were defeated.

Currently, there's no one causing the destruction, so I can't be sure……but I can only report it and leave the judgment to them.

It's turning into a complicated situation. Is it okay to report this……?

If I get involved or suspected……Hmm.

Even if I get involved, I won't die……right? I'll trust my intuition.

"Ms. Mary, I'm back."

"Welcome back, Crane. How did it go? Did you gather the leaves?"

"Um, I want to report something……I'd prefer to do it in a place where there aren't many people."

"Understood."

I returned to the guild and called out to Ms. Mary. When I requested a place with fewer people for the report, she nodded and led me to a back room.

Yeah, I feel a bit relieved when it's just Ms. Mary. Adventurers are generally stern and a bit scary. Some greet me warmly, and I respond, but……

There were a few adventurers in the guild, but I felt it was better not to let others hear the content of this report.

"So, you specifically requested a place with fewer people……did you not manage to gather the leaves? After Crane left, a large number of deliveries were made, so I thought that might be the case……"

"Um……yes, that's right. The deliveries……were they taken forcibly……?"

"Crane?"

"Um, first, can I report on the state of the eastern forest?"

"Yes, please do."

I made a serious expression, looked her in the eye, and spoke slowly and clearly.

I won't do anything that might make me look suspicious. Okay……here goes.

"The monsters in the eastern forest were mostly slimes, giant caterpillars, and giant rats. There were a few goblins, but no signs of a settlement. I didn't delve too deep. I defeated a slightly larger wild boar. I think I've covered the entire eastern forest, but while the monsters were agitated, there weren't any that didn't exist or in large numbers. Since it's my first time, I can't say what's normal, but it seemed there were fewer monsters than in the western hills."

Ms. Mary took notes while listening.

Of course, since I'm reporting to a superior, it's natural. I wrote some notes too, but I forgot to bring them. I'll give them to her at the end. I don't need a copy for myself.

"Hmm. The fewer monsters are concerning……why were they agitated? Was it the same in all areas?"

"There were no abnormalities near the entrance. From the middle slope to the deeper areas on the west side, there were many human footprints. Although no one was there, there were signs of damage to the trees and roots, and it looked like the forest had been destroyed. The monsters in that area seemed aggressive and angry."

"Hmm? I see?"

"The reason I judged it as destruction is that it seemed they were trying to force a path. The trees and leaves were cut with swords or blades, and there were two parallel paths, which I think were made by two people competing……and the sage trees around there had a lot of young leaves that had been forcibly taken."

"Really!?"

The sage trees are definitely strange.

Young leaves are unusable, and it's common knowledge. The fact that a large number of young leaves were left behind, even if they only took the usable sage leaves, is suspicious.

"The reachable leaves were gone, and only the upper parts had leaves……I gathered the young leaves and placed them at the base of the trees."

"Um……young leaves……"

"I brought a few just in case……here they are. They are still soft, and the necessary effects can't be extracted, so they can't be used in concoctions."

"Indeed……young sage leaves. ……I heard Crane can't identify items yet, but you did a good job distinguishing them?"

"Ah. You can tell by looking at the back of the sage leaves. The edges are lighter in color. The edges fall off naturally after two days. If the edges are still there, the quality of the sage leaves will be lower when used in concoctions, so I was taught to check the edges when buying them."

Sage leaves are one of the basic ingredients for concoctions and are easy to handle because they can be stored for a long time. However, once they are separated from the tree, their quality is fixed, so if they are picked too early, they won't mature and will remain low quality. Using them in concoctions is just a waste of time.

"Wait a moment. Even sage leaves can have edges?"

"Yes. I was taught that if the edge is more than 5mm, it's a young leaf, and if it's less than 5mm, it's a sage leaf. Yesterday, my master intentionally mixed them and had me concoct the ones with edges, which resulted in poor quality, so I'm sure about this."

"……Crane, can you wait here for a moment while I step out?"

"Yes, that's fine."

I watched as Ms. Mary hurriedly left the room and took out my notes on sage leaves. These are the notes I took from my master, and they include the information I just told Ms. Mary. I confirmed that I didn't make any mistakes and wrote down only the necessary information for the guild.

After a while, Ms. Mary returned with sage leaves.

"……Crane, can these sage leaves be used in concoctions?"

"The edges are still light, so if used directly, the quality will likely be poor. I can use the method my master taught me, but it takes more than twice the time, so I don't recommend using these."

"……What about other alchemists?"

"Um……I only know my master, Pamela, so I can't say for sure. It would be best to check with the Alchemist Guild."

"……Yes, I will. By the way,……will it be difficult to gather sage leaves……for a while?"

Yeah, that's the thing……I only learned from my master how to concoct and that young leaves are unusable, not the growth cycle of sage leaves. But logically……this isn't a game, so the leaves won't grow back in a day.

"Um, probably. About 70% of the trees from the middle slope to the deeper areas on the west side had lost their leaves, so I think that area will be affected. However, the eastern side and the entrance area were fine, so I managed to bring back 100 leaves……just in that area."

"……This is bad. We might need to conduct a more thorough investigation."

"I'm sorry. Here's the content of my investigation. I drew a rough map……on the back, I noted the monsters I defeated and their numbers, the sage trees I gathered from, and other materials I collected. The damage was mostly to the sage trees. And here are the monster cores. Oh, I plan to request the butchering of the wild boar for the meat and skin."

"I'll take them……I'll return the cores after confirming them with this paper. What about the other materials?"

Ms. Mary's face looks bad……I don't want to report this to a superior either.

I'm only comfortable with Ms. Mary, but I'm too scared to do it with others.

……I feel a bit sorry for Ms. Mary, who has to report this to her superior just because I'm her charge.

"I'll give them to my master and come back to sell the unnecessary items later."

"Understood. Can you come here tomorrow?"

"Um, if necessary, I can come in the morning. It's difficult in the afternoon because I have to go to my master's place."

"Can you come in the morning then?"

"Understood."

……What will I be asked tomorrow?

It's scary, but as the first discoverer, I have to give a statement. I'll assert that I didn't do it……but with no one around, it's hard to prove.

However, I have my own reasons. It's wasteful to make them unusable, and even though I managed to gather about 100 leaves, I didn't keep any for myself, so I didn't benefit.

……Actually, healing potions can be made with centaury, so I'm not too troubled……but what will happen from here?

I can't think of a good outcome……I hope nothing happens.