Chapter 11

As summer gradually wanes and autumn approaches, the wheat is beginning to droop. It's Herman here. The lingering heat of the season still makes me sweat, but I continue my usual gathering. It's just an ordinary day. I don't need any upheavals. Peace is the best. ...However, people have started to gather in the square in front of the church again. They never learn. Every year, they gather in this square, nibbling on mushrooms to try to survive. There must be other ways to live, but these stubborn people stick to their old habits.

What happens when such worthless people gather in the church square? It's obvious. They fight. If you have so much energy to waste, why don't you go into the forest and gather some mushrooms? Hunger doesn't wait. You gather things to satisfy your hunger, yet you waste your energy fighting and make yourself even hungrier. It's ridiculous.

Even now, as I come to the church to pray, the sound of fighting doesn't stop.

"Say that again, you bastard!"

"I'll say it as many times as I want, you scumbag! You stole the materials I gathered! Give them back!"

"Like I said, how could you steal something I put in my 'Extend Space'? Don't be ridiculous!"

"No way! You came to the spot I was watching and took my materials! You thief!"

"Are you kidding? I just picked what was growing there; I didn't steal anything! Don't be ridiculous!"

"You're the one being ridiculous! You've been following me everywhere! I found it first! It's my material!"

"I'll say it as many times as I want! I can't be bothered with what's growing there! Stop making false accusations!"

They must have been gathering in a rich area nearby. Not in a party, of course. They were probably only looking down, and their gathering spots overlapped without them realizing. It doesn't matter who got there first, but these people have no patience. They turn coincidence into inevitability, assuming the other person came to their spot on purpose. It's impossible to know who got there first now. They're turning a chance encounter into a pointless conflict.

Honestly, I don't care, but I can't leave now. The tents are so packed that I have to go through the middle of the square to get home. There's an unwritten rule that the middle must be left open for the well, but ... they're fighting right in the middle, so I can't pass. I might as well go into the forest and circle around the village. Ah, it can't be helped. I can't wait any longer.

I went back into the forest and circled around the village to get home. I hope they won't be angry that I'm a bit late.

In the morning, I wash my face, eat breakfast, do my work, and walk to the church with everyone else. Farmers have free time until the harvest. Ljudmila and Sharlo also come to study reading, writing, and arithmetic. They're still pulling up fast-growing herbs, but apparently, once they grow to a certain size, it's not necessary to worry too much. My parents seem to be handling it alone. I can't even tell where the fast-growing herbs are among the wheat, so I don't know how they distinguish them. Maybe it's a matter of talent.

By the way, only Marie has finished reading, writing, and arithmetic, but she comes to pray every morning because she wants a certain talent. After that, she goes home. The church is always full of people. There's a current craze for studying. The rumor that if you go to the church, pray, and study reading, writing, and arithmetic, you can get the talent you want has spread throughout the village. I don't know how many children there are, but the church is so busy that the lecture room can't even fit everyone.

So, after praying, I leave the group studying reading, writing, and arithmetic and go into the forest. I try to go as deep as possible. Lately, fights have become a daily occurrence. I don't want to get involved, so I move a bit deeper. ...This time, I'll go even deeper. I have the magic stone necklace and the magic clock. I still have plenty of time to gather materials. I'll take a little adventure.

I'm gathering deep in the forest. To sum up, I found that the deeper you go, the more valuable materials there are. ...Or rather, they haven't been picked yet and have grown. I think I've secured a fair number of dark sky mushrooms. I also found dark dark moss. I only got one bottle of black spirit moss, but it seems there are more untouched things deeper in.

The places I've been gathering so far are accessible to other adventurers. The current location is probably only reachable by elves, half-elves, or people with escape methods. Unvisited places have become treasure troves of materials. I've been walking through the forest for about two hours. I didn't need to come this deep.

...What's this? A golden plate? It's slightly round... What is it, scales? I remember the Marmatelurov had this color. ...But isn't it too big? This scale-like thing is over 30 cm. It's bigger than the Marmatelurov Judy keeps. ...I have a feeling this is a big discovery. I'm getting goosebumps. ...I'll do it tomorrow. After praying in the morning, I'll think about what to do with this scale-like thing. For now, I'll gather materials. I still have time, so I'll gather. That's what I'll do.

I came out of the forest. Today, I gathered a lot. I found many valuable materials and a mysterious object. ...I think it went well. Just as I was about to leave after finishing my prayers, an incident occurred. I heard the sound of swords clashing. ...To be precise, it sounded like metal hitting metal. It turned out to be swords. The fight between adventurers had escalated to the use of weapons.

It seems one of them was the adventurer who made a fuss yesterday. I could tell from the conversation. If someone says, "Was it you yesterday?" or "There you go again!" it's obvious. ...It seems the one who drew the sword first was the one who argued yesterday.

The clumsy swordsman attacks the other adventurer, who is probably different from yesterday. I can tell even I could see it. It's a talentless sword technique. The other person, who is receiving the attack, seems at least familiar with handling a sword. They are deflecting the attacks cleanly. People around are shouting, "Stop it!" and "Cut it out!" but there's no sign that they're listening.

"Can't help it! I'll leave the testimony here to you!"

The one receiving the attack shouts this. People around are saying things like, "Leave it to us," and "Sure thing," and they seem to be agreeing. ...What are they leaving? As I'm thinking this, the swordsman receiving the attack deflects the other's sword and launches a diagonal slash.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH