Chapter 34

I was sleeping, so the writing got delayed and the night posting became late. It was hard to write... I wonder why?

Over 10,000 points! Yay!

Thanks a lot!!

After that, Node, carrying the materials from the two spider bodies he had collected, spent the night at a suitable campsite nearby, struggling with the heavy load. For dinner, he borrowed the prey of the spiders that had been trapped in the nest. Compared to the previous night's dinner, Node and Neut enjoyed a luxurious meal and, with a minimum of vigilance, got a good night's sleep. The next day, they resumed their exploration of the forest. Since there were two, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be a third or more in the forest. They spent three days thoroughly searching, but found no further traces of spiders. In this exploration, Neut, who could fly, played a significant role. It seemed that the knight spiders in the Arba Forest were only these two, and Node was relieved that he didn't have to fight any more. Carrying the heavy load, they returned to the entrance of the forest, which was around noon, seven days after they had entered. The reason for the delay was that the pace of their return was slower due to the large amount of materials they were carrying.

At the entrance of the forest, the middle-aged hunter and the middle-aged man who had greeted Node when he first came to the village were there, and they hurriedly approached when they saw Node and Neut return. It turned out that they had been worried about the delay and had been checking on them every day since the third day. The middle-aged man, seeing the large amount of materials Node was carrying, offered to go to the village and bring a carriage.

Node put down the load and passed the time by looking at the scenery visible from the Arba Forest while waiting for the carriage. Node was born and raised in the capital and knew little about the countryside. As an adventurer, he had taken on various missions and gained a lot of experience, but he had rarely visited such rural areas, perhaps because he had prioritized money when taking on missions. He had experience staying in dilapidated inns where carriages could stop and camping in uninhabited forests and mountains, but he had little to do with rural villages, seeing them only from a distance when traveling. It was a strange story, considering that he had been an adventurer for over a year, but it was a testament to how biased his missions were, particularly dangerous ones with high rewards.

For a while, Node enjoyed the rural scenery.

After loading the spider materials onto the carriage, when Node returned to Arba Village, Johan was waiting at the entrance. It seemed that he had been informed of Node's return and had come from the mansion to the village entrance. There was a stable boy holding the reins of a horse, so he must have ridden there.

"Node, I was worried!"

"Back now, brother."

Node, who had gotten off the carriage, greeted Johan. He reported the completion of the mission and showed the materials he had brought back, and Johan was surprised at the amount.

"You must be tired, stay the night."

"No, that's... No, I'll take you up on that."

Johan, seeing the damage to Node's armor and the amount of materials, suggested that he stay. Node was about to refuse but eventually accepted, as the camping in the forest did not provide proper rest.

That night, he was invited to the Oublielle family's dining table again, and the meal was even more luxurious than the first day. It goes without saying that the appetizer was the battle with the general spider in the forest.

The next day, the Oublielle family tried to keep him for a longer stay, but Node refused this time. The reason was simple: the remaining days of his vacation. He had used more time than expected for the search after the extermination, and with the return journey taken into account, he had no spare days.

Since that was the case, the Oublielle family reluctantly gave him souvenirs (durable crops and wine from the territory) and a letter for the Felis family, and Node left the Arba territory. On this occasion, he was tasked by Johan to transport a young man who had been given a village errand, "Since you're going, take him to the nearby town." Even a standing parent can be used, let alone a younger brother. That thought crossed Node's mind.

§

Node returned to the capital on the final day of his long vacation, the day before. After returning to the Felis family and handing over the souvenirs and letter, he went to the adventurer's guild with a brief greeting. He completed the report of the mission's completion, but instead of selling the materials as usual, he headed to his next destination.

"Hey... it's you, hasn't it been a while?"

"Same as always, I guess. Well, take a look."

Opening the door of the familiar shop, the sound of a bell announcing a customer rang out, and the gruff greeting of the shopkeeper, who was at the counter, was thrown at him. It had become a fixture of the shop, and Node had given up on complaining about the service, showing his armor silently to the shopkeeper in the cluttered store.

"Wow, you've been roughed up... Only the fish dragon scales are in good condition, right?"

While checking the damage to the armor, the shopkeeper asked what he had fought, and Node briefly replied, "General spider."

"You're still alive! I thought you were still a crystal-class adventurer?"

"Well, a lot has happened. I've grown, too."

"Hmph, I'll praise you for coming back alive. So, you have the materials, right?"

"The carriage is parked outside."

The strength of the general spider is copper-class, and even the scale armor of a crystal-class adventurer would be a problem, but it was too much of a burden. In fact, an average crystal-class adventurer would have died in battle if they were unlucky. Perhaps they would have been wrapped in spider silk and kept as food for a while, but escape from there would be hopeless. Node thanked God inwardly that he hadn't ended up that way. When Node told the shopkeeper where the materials were, they moved together to the carriage's cargo area.

"Ho, that's a lot."

"There's also the knight spider's share. Is it enough?"

"Um, two, three, four... Yeah, it should be fine."

Node asked the shopkeeper, who was inside the carriage's cargo area, looking at the mountain of monster materials. The words were insufficient, but the shopkeeper understood without any problem. What Node had asked the shopkeeper to do was to make new armor. The scale armor, which had been severely damaged in the battle with the general spider, needed to be replaced. Armor can generally be repaired if the materials are available, and there were still some materials left in stock for the repair of the scale armor. However, Node began to feel that the performance of the scale armor was lacking for his abilities. So, he decided to make armor with the next level of performance. Conveniently, he had the materials from the copper-class monster, the general spider. Therefore, he decided to make armor out of the materials instead of selling them.

"How long will it take?"

"Hmm, the cost will be... about this much, and it will take a month, I'm afraid."

"I'll leave it to you."

The shopkeeper, who is a surprisingly merchant despite his gruff attitude, is a middle-aged man with a beard and a bald head. He rattled the abacus with practiced hands and presented the production cost. Node, satisfied with the price, entrusted the production.

The shopkeeper said he was busy, and Node remembered the unusually large amount of goods in the store. He immediately realized the reason: the weapons and armor of the Eastern Knights. The lords of various territories that make up the Eastern Knights had ordered and repaired weapons and armor all at once due to a large-scale exercise, and the orders that exceeded the production capacity of each territory had been sent to the capital. To be able to complete the new armor in a month in such a situation meant that Node's request was being given priority. This kind of response was the reason why the shop had been able to continue operating in the capital without going out of business. After moving the necessary materials, including spares, into the store with the shopkeeper, Node also asked for his sword to be sharpened. When he said it was urgent, the shopkeeper agreed to deliver it the next day, which was a great help to Node.

After leaving the armory, Node sold the remaining materials at the guild. The materials from the general spider had decreased due to the use for the armor, but combined with the sale of the knight spider's materials, the amount was considerable. The amount was a few percent more than he had expected, and when he asked the guild staff at the counter, he was told:

"There was a large-scale exercise by the knights, right? Because of that, or rather, thanks to that, the prices of various materials have risen."

(Well, the effects of the exercise have reached here, too.)

Node recalled the large-scale exercise of the knights, which was the root cause of his battle with the general spider, and thought that it would probably affect food prices as well, while receiving the settlement money at the counter. He stuffed the money, which included several silver coins, into a leather bag, which felt heavy in his palm. Even after deducting the low price he had been paid for the mission by his brother Johan, this adventure had been fruitful. That's how Node felt.

§

After returning to the adventurer's guild and completing his business, Node visited the usual room in the Royal Research Institute, the professor's laboratory, for the final report of his long vacation. The content of the report was long and varied because he had been away from the capital for the longest time.

"Hmm, you fought a general spider... and you let it eat the meat, too?"

"Yes, it was very happy to eat it."

Node was reporting to the professor about Neut's condition. The professor, as usual, wearing a white coat and glasses, was talking to Node while flipping through a notebook on the desk. The notebook was Neut's observation diary. What kind of monster he had fought, what he had been fed at each meal, and whether he had shown any unusual behavior. During the long vacation, Node had taken Neut out and let him gain hunting experience, and he had recorded the changes that had occurred.

When he gave the meat of the general spider and knight spider to Neut, he initially just sniffed it, but after taking a bite, he eagerly ate it. Node, who had no intention of eating spider meat at first, tried it when he saw Neut eating it so deliciously. The spider meat, cooked thoroughly, tasted very similar to the crab meat he had eaten at the port before. The edible parts of the spider were few. After collecting the carapace and silk sacs, the only edible part left was the meat in the legs. Node and Neut silently fought over the meat, but that's a different story.

"Still, you did a great job!"

The professor, who had finished reading the observation diary, put it away on the shelf and said to Node in a good mood.

"The two months of observation records were very interesting. It led to new insights into the ecology of dragons. It might even change the way the Iron Dragon Knights operate!"

The professor's voice was loud, and Neut, who had been lying on the floor, raised his head to see what was going on. Then, "Ah, it's this human again," he lost interest and lay down again with his front legs as a pillow.

"If I had something to give you..."

The professor looked around, but there were only research materials and tools. Node, who didn't need such a troublesome thing, politely declined. Then,

"Is that so? Well, if you ever have any trouble, let me know. I have connections with various people, you know. I can help."

The professor said to Node. Remembering that the professor was a relative of a high-ranking noble, Node left the laboratory. When he first received an order from the professor, he wondered what would happen, but because it was a formal job, he was able to borrow a carriage from the knights for free. So, he saved on the carriage fare and was actually helped. He would have preferred a special reward, but he wouldn't be greedy. Thinking about such things, Node hurried home in the carriage he was allowed to use, as it was already evening in the capital.

§

"If only you had stayed longer..."

In Node's room on the second floor of the Felis family, his sister Iris complained. The sister, with her wavy blonde hair straightened, was wearing a green nightgown that matched Neut's. She was lying on Node's bed, stroking Neut's dark green scales on the floor.

"Right?" Iris tilted her head and whispered to Neut, who mimicked her movement and made a small sound, "Kyu?"

"It can't be helped, it's work."

"But..."

Node had used his long vacation to earn money, but more importantly, he had been given the task of training Neut in hunting and recording data. It was an official order, and as a member of the Iron Dragon Knights, even as a trainee, it was a job he couldn't refuse. Iris, who had just turned six, could understand the words, but emotionally, she couldn't accept it.

"I wanted to play with Neut more!!"

She buried her head in the pillow she had brought to Node's room and thrashed around, throwing a tantrum. This adorable sister was infatuated with the baby dragon named Neut. She was probably resentful that Node had gone on adventures and left her unable to play with Neut during the long vacation.

"That's my fault. But tomorrow, I have nothing planned, so we can play with Neut."

"Mmm..."

"Kyu?"

That's enough, Node said, and Iris, who had been sitting on the bed, was still pouting. She seemed to be struggling with the joy of being able to play and the lingering dissatisfaction.

"Okay, I'm going to bed now. I'll turn off the light."

"Eh! I'm not sleepy yet..."

"If you stay up late, you won't be able to play with Neut tomorrow."

"...Okay."

At this point, it was easy. He quickly blew out the candle. Iris protested, but when Node persuaded her, she readily accepted. He had discovered during the past six months that most of his persuasion worked on Iris if he used Neut as an excuse. Node blew out the candle in the room and got into his bed, where Iris was already lying down. Node on the window side, Iris on the entrance side. The sleeping positions had become fixed, and the moonlight coming in from the open window to let in the breeze faintly illuminated the room. Iris was whispering to Neut, but her voice gradually faded, and soon her peaceful breathing could be heard. Node gently covered her shoulders with a blanket so she wouldn't catch a cold.

Since Neut had come to the Felis family, Iris had started sleeping in Node's bed every night so that Neut could sleep in Node's room. In the spring, it was fine, but during the summer, when they slept in the same bed, it was unbearably hot for Node when he occasionally came home, but he didn't feel that way today. Confirming that his sister was asleep, Node finally closed his eyes and relaxed. The faint sounds of Iris and Neut's breathing echoed in the dark room. Listening to the sounds, Node eventually fell asleep.

The late summer wind, which strongly hinted at the arrival of autumn, rustled the curtains of the window.

So, this is a slice of life after the mission. Sorry to those who were expecting a battle.

Since this is a story about a long vacation, I wanted to finish this series in August, so I'm glad the posting was just in time.

Well, it's Sunday tomorrow. In this case, are middle and high school students on break? I'm an old man, so I don't remember anymore.

I tried to write the feeling of the end of summer vacation. I hope it came across. Well, it's fine even if it didn't.

Summer vacation homework.

Free research: "Dragon Observation Diary"

1st grade D class Node Felis

That's the story.

The professor thought about giving him an item, like a scroll.

In the end, it became a connection. Whether it will be used is undecided.

Neut's hunting training was a story inspired by consecutive quests in online games.

Node: "Hey, that's fine, but give me some silver coins, you slacker."

The posting pace will slow down from September. Please be patient.

See you...