Chapter 17

Every time you report typos, it helps a lot. I'm also very grateful that you read it thoroughly.

Hello, it's Herman, writing from inside the carriage. It's the 7th day of the carriage journey, and we will finally arrive at Lunch Village today. There were attacks on the 3rd and 4th days, six times in total, but the three female adventurers who were traveling with me easily defeated them. Well, they were just goblins, after all. They are the representative monsters that can be defeated even by a 1-star adventurer. That's why I didn't get a chance to participate, as the girls took care of everything. But today, I will part ways with this carriage. Seven days of carriage travel really tired me out. It's my second carriage journey, but I don't think I'll ever like it.

As I was thinking this, we arrived at Lunch Village. It was past noon, and I need to set up a tent and start producing preservation bottles for the days ahead. I bought the magic tool for making preservation bottles, and even though it's hard to recoup the cost, I need to use it every day to prevent the bottles from running out. It's good that I don't have to go buy them every time, but the use of magic power makes me feel strangely tired. It seems that I can produce one bottle in about 2 to 3 seconds, and I can produce them at a good pace, but the consumption of magic power is also significant. After using it for 30 minutes continuously, I feel a bit dizzy. But if I can produce over 600 in 30 minutes, it's more than enough.

So, this is the church square, but there are no adventurers. It's a sacred site, right? I thought it was impossible for there to be no adventurers, but it seems that the Campano Forest is not very popular. Well, it makes sense since there are only poisonous mushrooms and they don't even have any value. I guess the starving adventurers are all going to sacred sites without poisonous mushrooms.

And the Campano Forest, it's not what I expected. First, there are no leaves on the trees. It's as if a forest fire happened, but it's even more bald than that. It's not like they were burned well. It's a sacred site of fire, so it's beyond my expectations. Still, the branches are so dense that sunlight hardly reaches the ground. I have to enter this forest from tomorrow. I'm a bit worried. It's a forest of dead trees, but they're not really dead, I guess.

Well, I've set up the tent, and I've taken out the magic tool to start making preservation bottles. I want to create as much stock as possible. I'll try to make as many as I can, up to my limit. ... It's nice that it's silent. I envy the sound of clinking, but this is more like a "plop plop" feeling, and there's no sound. Magic tools are full of mysteries. So, I can produce for about 30 minutes, which seems to be my limit. I feel like I might lose consciousness if I do more. Well, I don't use 600 a day, so once every few days is enough. I've been making them for seven days, so I think they will last for a month.

It's evening now. There are four tents around the well. It's really just me and the three female adventurers. It would be profitable for adventurers if they had proper knowledge. It's a waste. I don't know how profitable this sacred site is, but I think it's more profitable than the York Forest because of the poison. Well, it's not my concern, so I'll gather materials. After eating dinner and washing the dishes, I'll go to bed. Good night.

In the morning, I wash my face and prepare breakfast as usual. I'll enter the Campano Forest from today. I'm well-prepared, so there shouldn't be any problems, but first, breakfast. There's no lunch in this world. I don't know about the nobles, but the driver, who used to be a noble, didn't have lunch either, so maybe the nobles only have two meals a day. So, I'll eat my usual breakfast and leave one half of the directional magic stone pendant inside the tent. If I don't do this, I might not be able to return. Then, I fold the splash-proof cloth in half to form a triangle, cover my nose completely, and tie it securely at the back. This is perfect.

From today, I'll be gathering materials until winter. I have no problem with replenishing the preservation bottles. The meat and mushrooms are limited, but the salt and wheat are fine. I could go to town to buy supplies, but it would be a waste of time. So, future me, bear with the wheat porridge. So, I'll go gather materials right away. I'll start with the shallows. If no one has entered the forest, I think I can expect a good harvest even in the shallows. I found a magic mushroom right away. Is this a good start?

After entering the forest for a while, the density of trees in the Campano Forest is incredible. Once you enter the forest, you can't even tell where the edge is because of the density of the trees. And surprisingly, it's not hot. I thought it would be hot because it's a fire attribute forest, but it's cooler than I expected. Well, the trees aren't actually burning, so that makes sense. But it's good news that it's cool. I would die in the summer if it were hot. I don't want to be baked. The materials are also gathering smoothly. I haven't found the high-value moss yet, but there are plenty of mushrooms and grass. It really feels untouched. Most of them are magic mushrooms, but I'm also gathering other mushrooms and grass. I think it's a good gathering spot. ... But I have no idea how deep I am. There's no way to tell how deep I've gone. If I didn't have the directional magic stone pendant, I might get lost here.

So, I gathered materials smoothly, and it's evening. The sun doesn't shine through the forest, so I have no sense of time. It's good that I have a magic clock. It's dark all the time, whether it's noon or evening. ... I wonder if there are glasses that can see in the dark. Since I have to gather materials at night, I think they are absolutely necessary. But they are probably custom-made. Even without prescription, glasses are expensive. It will be a high cost, but I'll make them.

So, I returned to the tent. ... Oh? It's unusual to have adventurers. The children are watching from a distance. Good kids, it's time to go home. If I leave them alone, they'll go home on their own. I need to prepare dinner. I finished the work quickly and just need to simmer it. It's a stable and easy meal. The village meals were similar. Mostly wheat porridge and vegetables, with meat occasionally. The mushrooms I gathered were even treated as a delicacy at first. Well, humans get used to things, so mushroom dishes became normal when I was there. I wonder how they are doing now. When winter comes, the villagers might join the adventurers to gather mushrooms. Oh, it's about time. ... Itadakimasu. Hmm, this taste is indescribable. It's just ordinary, but... By the time I was cleaning up, the children had left. If they don't return by dinner time, they won't get any food. That's how villages work.

In the morning, I'm used to tent life and have a good sleep. I wash my face and prepare breakfast as usual. Today is another day of gathering materials. I'll go to the village chief's house before that. I need to take care of something. I knock on the door.

"Excuse me."

"Yes, yes, the toilet, right?"

"Yes, ... It's a hassle to pay every time, so can I pay in advance for the duration I'll be here?"

I hand over five large copper coins. It's a hassle to pay one small copper coin each time, and five large copper coins are worth 500 uses. I think it's more than enough, but I want them to forgive me.

"Yes, the house is fine. ... But isn't it too much?"

"No, I plan to stay until winter, so I think I'll use it that much. If that amount is fine, I'm happy too."

"Yes, I think it's enough. I understand. I'll exempt you from the per-use payment."

"Thank you. It's good to save the trouble."

If I paid each time, I would run out of small copper coins and need change. I wanted to avoid that. Plus, I can use the toilet without hesitation. I probably won't use it 500 times, but I can make up for it with the materials here. The toilet is secured, so let's go gather materials.

Today, I want to go deeper. ... Well, I only know the general direction, so I don't know if it's deep or not. I might end up in a shallow spot after a winding path, but I walked for about an hour. I secured the notable materials in the areas I walked through, but I left the magic mushrooms. I can gather them anytime, and I have plenty of non-attribute materials. I secured the attribute ones. I might have missed some. So, I arrived at what seems to be a relatively deeper area. I'll gather materials here today. My target is moss. Oil charcoal moss and fox straw fire moss. The oil charcoal moss is black-gray moss. If it has flowers, they are yellow. It's supposed to be expensive, as it's on page 9. The fox straw fire moss is white-gray moss. The flowers are blue. It's supposed to be like the ash of burning straw. This is the main target, the treasure material on page 10. Today is all about finding moss. I need to search with determination. I haven't seen it before, so I don't know what it looks like or how to find it. The guidebook has pictures, but they are in black and white, so I don't know the colors.

So, after searching until the last minute, I found both types of moss. Maybe there are more valuable materials deeper in. ... I don't have enough to fill a bottle yet, but once I find them, they're mine. It's different when you've seen them before. ... Well, I need to sell them to a merchant to confirm their value and if they are the correct materials. When I was in the York Forest, Judy taught me. From now on, I need to confirm on my own.

... Oh? I ended up at a place other than the church square. That's strange. I should have returned to the tent using the directional magic stone pendant... I'm not crazy. I did return to the village. So, did someone steal it from the tent? ... I hope it was a child. It's probably not an adult. In the worst case, I might have to cut them. Theft is a serious crime. If it's a child, there's room for leniency, and they might have to endure a slap. I'll go to the church square to check if the pendant is there. ... It's gone. It's certain that it was taken.

It seems to lead to this house. I'll pass by to check. ... Yes, I'm heading towards this house. Who is the culprit? I knock on the door. This is common sense, even for adventurers. It should be written in the adventurer's code of conduct. It's written about the etiquette when visiting someone's house. It's basically only for the village chief's house, but it should be common sense.

"Who is it?"

"I'm an adventurer staying in this village. It seems that an item was stolen from my tent today, so I came here. It's certain that it's from this house. Please bring out the culprit."

"!? ... By the