Chapter 96

After returning from a two-day trip to the Border Mountains, my brother and Naga gave me some souvenirs.

There were many materials, quite a few of which I didn't recognize. Then, they reported that Carrot and Rott had found some of the materials. On that basis...

"Isn't this a perfect reason to hide the fact that we're making the hundred-herb medicine? It wouldn't be unnatural to gather a lot, right? I was thinking that we should stop gathering the hundred-herb if we want to avoid drawing attention."

"No, the sage leaves are still in short supply..."

"In that case, we need a noble cause, like feeding Carrot and Rott."

I was defeated by my brother's words, and the two rabbits as pets were confirmed. Naga looked happy.

Indeed, it is a reason to gather the hundred-herb, but... However, after a proper explanation, it was decided that Carrot, Rott, and I would share it.

But... It's amazing that they understand when you explain it to them.

Momo, and even the monsters, seem to have a good head on their shoulders, or at least understand what people are saying to some extent. Then why did they eat all the hundred-herb the other day! But Naga's excuse was that they were hungry before going out.

Since then, if we give them proper food, they can leave some behind.

After that, we had dinner and tried to check each other's situations, but it didn't seem like things were getting much better.

Even if my brother had no choice but to escalate the conflict with the nobles... I didn't think that even Stampede would involve dealing with nobles...

"Can't we do something about it?"

"Raz nominated you, so it's probably not possible... Besides, if you don't go, Raz will be the candidate, as lightning magic is essential."

"Marquis family... Is it that important? And they're on the king's side."

"Is it dangerous?"

"I'll look into the Stampede from five years ago... But a typical Stampede involves being surrounded by a large number of monsters, so it's quite tough. At the very least, we need to level up and practice coordination to form a seven-person party... Besides, it's a river, so the battle will be focused on long-range attacks..."

In the worst case, a Stampede can involve continuous wave attacks, making it impossible to sleep.

However, if it's on that scale, clans or parties of a certain size will work together, so breaks are possible.

I wonder how large the Stampede on the river we're participating in will be.

"I'll ask Leo's uncle. We'll think about the countermeasures afterward. Regarding leveling up... From what I saw in the Border Mountains, Ars and Crow need to improve."

"Yeah... I realized that mages are like paper armor."

"Isn't Ars a combat type?"

"...He's simply at a low level. Leus and Tiga are at level 20, Crow at 15, and Ars at 9."

"Good that you could bring him to the Border Mountains... Will it be okay if we level up Ars?"

"...Yeah."

In other words, the problem is Crow. He's a mage, right? I don't have that image of him being so frail...

Both of us agreed that he's more like paper armor than I am.

"For Crow, you need to teach him to cast spells and learn resistance abilities to boost his capabilities."

"Really? It might draw too much attention."

"We might be under surveillance when we're outside... If we do it in a dungeon where we can't be seen..."

"Tomorrow, I have to help at the church, so it might be difficult."

"...I'll help tomorrow too."

The schedule... If we don't level up Crow during this time, it's a bit tricky because the period is short.

We could ask the guild to borrow a training room or ask Lord Raz, but that's not ideal.

"Should we clear out the basement... and do it?"

"That giant pot is heavy, though."

"...There are many valuable items."

We moved all the items from the workroom to create space... and for one day, we'll use the training room... It's not impossible, but I won't be able to do alchemy or potion-making, which is a problem.

On the other hand, I understand that it's dangerous if he's really like paper armor. In a Stampede, mages are apparently in danger.

Crow is supposed to be an assistant, so it's not unnatural for him to come and help. And training inside the house... that's the only option.

"Okay, let's clean up."

"...Yeah."

"Just for Crow. We'll only do it for one day and return everything to its original state, so please help! Absolutely!"

So, we hastily turned the basement into a training room... the next day.

First thing in the morning, Naga went to the inn to call Crow before going to the church. Then, he went to the church with Ars and, additionally, Leus.

"...So, we're doing emergency Stampede countermeasures."

"I thought it was an emergency when you called me suddenly..."

He only called them without giving a reason. However, Tiga was also free, so he came along, and they were taken to the basement to explain the training.

"What exactly does that mean?"

Naga's large shield was given to the confused Crow.

"I got Naga's permission to borrow the shield. Can you hold it and get ready? I'll cast spells at you, and if you can defend well, you might learn resistance abilities."

"Wait. If you cast spells, it'll be an overkill. I understand if it's Granos, but..."

"Hmm... I don't know your stats, but is it okay if your MDF is lower than my INT?"

"Yeah. Actually, your INT is higher than mine, a mage."

Huh? Is that so?

I haven't known my brother's stats recently...

But, he prefers to fight with a sword....

"Probably just a level difference. But I can't focus my attacks like Crane."

"Exactly. I'll suppress the power, and with the shield... even if you get hurt, we have healing magic."

Then, I cast spells at Crow, used healing magic occasionally, and repeated the process.

For higher-level spells, the possibility of learning resistance is low, but I did it anyway.

"About magic, is it possible for me to learn it?"

"Uh, Tiga? What do you mean?"

"When I chose my race, most of the magic options were grayed out. I could choose earth magic, but it didn't seem very useful, so I didn't."

I see...

Tiga looks like a beastman... but it seems that some races can't learn magic as a racial trait. My brother and Crow are birdmen, Ars and Tiga are beastmen, and Leus is a dragonman. As for me and Naga, it's unclear. Actually, Naga is a human, but then what about his abnormal growth rate? Anyway, let's put Naga aside.

I was asked to come up with a plan for magic. Without me, the party would be heavily focused on physical attacks, so it would be good if they could learn some magic for balance.

My brother was also concerned about long-range combat, and it seemed to be a serious issue.

"Let's start by enchanting Tiga's shield. As you get used to it, the range of magic you can use will expand... If you use earth magic, you might learn it. As a tank, solidifying the earth for defense might be useful."

"True. Crow and Granos have a high affinity for wind, so they won't learn earth magic. It could be a problem if no one can use earth magic when Crane isn't around. It would be good if I could learn it."

"It's a racial trait, so it can't be helped. Both Granos and I have birdman blood, so we can't use earth magic at all. Rather, I learned fire and water, so I deserve some praise."

In any case, Crow leveled up and learned basic resistance attributes properly.

It should improve a bit... For level 16, his stats seem a bit low. I hope to get him to level 30 by the Stampede, so it shouldn't be a terrible result.

"Let's try to understand the magic system based on Crane's notes... The rest is healing magic."

"Light magic heals wounds, but in terms of aptitude... it doesn't seem possible. There are healing spells for water and wind, so let's hope for those... Here's the content of the magic system I copied from the adventurer guild. We can only wish to learn it by comparing it with the church's books."

"Crow, you need to work hard."

"Hmm... I'll try."

Crow answered bitterly to Tiga's words.

He says he doesn't like working hard, but he does what he's asked to do.

He didn't intend to be an adventurer... but since it involves life and death, it would be good to learn a couple of healing spells.

Without me and Crow, the party is too physical... My brother also has very few spells, and according to the priest, the possibility of him learning healing spells is low.

So, the adults are planning and preparing for the future.

Tomorrow is the 1st of March, so I need to go to the church. Crow will study the magic system based on my notes.

I've been helped a lot by the priest, so I need to go and help tomorrow...

Today's preparation involves a lot of physical work, so Naga and the others will go, and I'll just take their word for it.

Tomorrow is a free day... I've returned the room to its original state. The training... we'll do it in the dungeon.