Chapter 39

"Raphatalia, Filo, be careful."

Now, the enemy this time is a plant.

Even for me, who usually deals with herbs, the plant in front of me is unusual.

Vines bear various fruits, and tubers grow from the roots.

Not only that, it has the ability to parasitize the human body and spew acid and poison.

It seems that something effective would be a herbicide... I wonder if physical attacks would work.

As we moved forward, the vines began to wriggle and attacked us.

"Ha!"

"Hey!"

Raphatalia and Filo swept away the vines.

Vines from all around us came at us.

I might as well... use magic.

"I, the Shield Hero, command the source of power. Interpret the principles once more and protect this one!"

"Fast Guard!"

I cast a defensive spell on Raphatalia and Filo.

The effect increases the defense of the target by a percentage. It’s a support spell that is particularly effective on me, who already has high defense.

"Thank you, Naofumi-sama."

"Thanks a lot."

After thanking me, the two of them continued their attacks on the attacking vines.

Well, it’s good to keep moving forward, but I wonder how we can get rid of this plant.

It’s something like that. If we can’t suppress it with powerful magic or a special drug, we have no choice but to retreat for now.

However, it’s a good idea to eliminate the enemies here.

There’s a high possibility that some kind of hint is hidden in the village.

Since the method of extermination is not clearly stated in the legends, we haven’t found a specific method yet.

If we attack it head-on and it doesn’t work, we’ll have to think of something else.

The vine attacks can’t break through my defense, so they can’t hinder our progress.

"Let’s move forward for the investigation!"

"Yes!"

"Okay!"

I started running, heading towards what seemed to be the central part of the plant, which should be the root of the plant in the village.

There, plant-type monsters were swarming.

The strength of the enemies is manageable for me, Raphatalia, and Filo.

However, I’m still worried about the defense of Raphatalia and Filo.

"Um..."

The names of the monsters are Bio-Plant, Plant-Rew, and Mandragora.

Bio-Plant is the general term for all of these plants, Plant-Rew is a humanoid monster made of vines, and Mandragora is a non-mobile monster that resembles a pitcher plant.

The Plant-Rew, as Filo mentioned, spews poison from a large flower on its head.

The Mandragora sprays an acidic solution from its vines to weaken its prey, then pulls it in with the vines to eat it.

The Bio-Plant is the main monster that produces these two types of monsters. Occasionally, a swollen vine bursts, and the two types of monsters come out from inside.

When I tried sprinkling herbicide, it withered as if it had received a critical hit.

It doesn’t seem to be subject to the Shield’s attack judgment.

Well, in terms of feeling, it’s just a violent plant, not a monster...

What’s the criterion?

Is it like using holy water or healing magic on undead monsters, which is not their intended use?

Or maybe it’s a medicine that can cure the parasitic state...

I don’t know.

If I think about it more broadly, it’s similar to using a treatment that’s effective against viruses because the pathogen is a virus.

"What should we do?"

The vines and Plant-Rews continue to attack me uselessly.

The attacks are meaningless, but the poisonous pollen makes it a bit hard to breathe.

The acid is also troublesome. It seems to have an effect of lowering defense, and my status shows a significant decrease.

Still, it’s good that they can’t break through. The snake’s fangs (medium) are completely ineffective.

Of course. The enemy uses poison and is a plant.

"Raphatalia"

"Ah...! What is it?"

The air is bad, so Raphatalia is slightly coughing.

Even though she’s recovered, Raphatalia might be weak because she had respiratory problems before.

"Take this herbicide just in case."

"Ah, yes!"

I threw the herbicide to Raphatalia. I’ll let her use it if necessary.

...If I think about it, the wriggling vines. In an eroge, it would be a scene where the heroine is ravaged.

"Naofumi-sama?"

Raphatalia, this is the kind of monster that would capture and assault someone.

"You’re thinking something disrespectful, aren’t you?"

The vines entangle Raphatalia, but she calmly tears them apart.

They don’t seem to have much durability.

"Naofumi-sama? Let’s go faster!"

"O-Okay."

As we moved forward, there was a large tree in the center of the village.

No, on closer inspection, it wasn’t a tree but a large mass of vines.

"I hope that’s the main body..."

As I approached the mass, a huge eye-like organ on the trunk stared at us.

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

It’s creepy.

But it looks like the main body.

"Master, I’m going!"

Filo ran and leaped at the main body’s eye. However, a huge vine attacked her mid-air.

"Hey!"

Filo kicked the vine with her strong legs and continued to jump... but unfortunately, the distance wasn’t enough.

"Master!"

"I know! Air Shield!"

I created an Air Shield under Filo’s falling feet to use as a foothold.

After landing on the shield, Filo jumped again and reached right in front of the eye.

"Take this!"

With a squish, the eye was obliterated by Filo’s kick.

Ugh... it’s quite graphic.

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The vines went wild, and the ground shook.

It seems that destroying the eye alone isn’t enough to defeat it.

Hmm... what should we do?

"It’s not going down."

"Yeah."

The eye started to regenerate with a hissing sound.

In the middle of it... I noticed something that looked like a seed inside the eye.

"Raphatalia, Filo. There’s something inside that eye-like main body. Try to pour the herbicide you have into it."

The cooldown is over. I can cast the next Air Shield. By the way, Plant-Rews and Mandragoras are attacking me en masse. They seem to be coming down endlessly from above.

"Understood!"

"Got it!"

Raphatalia rode on Filo’s back and leaped at the regenerating eye.

The eye, sensing the threat, rained down several vines at them.

"Shield Prison!"

I instantly created a shield cage to protect them.

The shield cage in the air can protect them from attacks. The effect lasts for 15 seconds.

During this time, all the vines that come down are deflected by the prison.

The... vines surround the prison.

After 15 seconds, the prison disappears. At that moment, I create an Air Shield for Filo to use as a foothold.

"Go!"

Raphatalia slashes the vines that swarm around Filo with her sword.

The vines are cut beautifully, and Filo’s second jump is successful.

She delivers a second kick to the eye.

"!?!!???"

The eye, which was being repaired, stopped moving for a moment when it received the follow-up attack.

Seizing the opportunity, Raphatalia sprinkles the herbicide on the seed-like part inside the eye.

"!!!!?????"

A tremendous vibration, indescribable as either a sound or a voice, echoed, and the Bio-Plant’s movements came to a halt.

"Did it work?"

I feel like I’m setting a death flag, but it’s fine because I don’t feel pain or itch even if I’m attacked.

However, the Bio-Plant started moving again.

"I’m sorry. It seems I didn’t sprinkle it properly."

"No, it was applied correctly. It seems the herbicide’s effect wasn’t enough to wither it."

In that case, what can we do...?

Then, I had an idea.

I have a skill that increases the effectiveness of medicine. I used that skill to help someone earlier.

So, what will happen if I use it?

"Then, I’ll try it next."

Ignoring the enemies swarming around me, I walked with the herbicide in one hand.

Recently, I noticed that my defense also affects strength, so even if a large number of enemies cling to me, I can still move forward.

However, when it comes to attacking, it doesn’t seem to have much effect.

So, I can walk without any problems even if I’m carrying a large number of monsters.

I reached the root of the Bio-Plant.

"Riding on Filo and applying it directly to the affected area would probably be more effective."

I sprinkled several herbicides at the root.

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????"

The Bio-Plant’s movements intensified. It was like a death rattle.

Then, the Bio-Plant began to turn brown from the eye part and wither.

It sounded like a hiss, and everything started to wither.

With a crackling sound, the main body of the Bio-Plant collapsed, and we hurried to evacuate.

"Wow..."

Looking around, all the other monsters had turned brown. Everything except the ripe fruits had turned brown, and we were the only ones moving.

Then... shining seeds fell from where the Bio-Plant stood.

...If we leave them, it might be dangerous...

"Let’s clean up. The Shield might be able to absorb them. I’ll collect them."

"Yes."

"Food!"

While we were collecting the seeds, Filo was eating the remaining fruits and tubers.