Chapter 12

Summary of the previous episode ------------------------------------------------------

Hear a simple explanation of magic from Haruka.

Arrive at the target forest and start searching for herbs.

It had probably been about an hour since we started collecting herbs.

Despite the time spent, we had managed to collect a considerable amount of herbs.

First, Haruka and I can distinguish herbs from non-herbs without careful observation thanks to the [Help] skill.

Moreover, Toya's [Appraisal] skill, which we thought would only be useful for post-collection identification, turned out to be unexpectedly beneficial, even essential for this collection.

At first, we thought it would be useful for classifying the herbs Haruka and I collected, but upon closely examining the appraisal results, we found that for many of them, the useful parts were the roots, flowers, or seeds, and collecting leaves was often meaningless.

In other words, by the time we realized this, most of the herbs we had collected were essentially useless.

Most of the herbs we collected did not have flowers or seeds, and we couldn't dig up the roots because we didn't know where they had been picked, and we didn't have shovels anyway.

Even if we had, we probably wouldn't have been able to dig them up without shovels.

If they could have been sold for a high price, we might have tried with branches, but the herbs we found in this place wouldn't be that valuable.

Fortunately, Toya noticed this about five minutes after we started.

The [Help] skill doesn't cover such details, so if Toya hadn't noticed the appraisal results, we would have ended up bringing back a lot of useless leaves.

It would have been better if he had noticed it at the beginning, but since getting the [Appraisal] skill was Toya's achievement, I had to accept it. I did, however, tell him to read all the explanations when he appraised something.

After that, we memorized the herbs that required leaves and only collected those.

Incidentally, even Haruka's [Common Sense of Another World] didn't cover these details.

Indeed, even if I knew that mugwort could be used as an herb, I wouldn't know how to use it. This is the difference between "common sense" and "specialized knowledge."

As we continued to pull weeds in silence, Toya suddenly looked up.

"…Naoto, do you sense anything?"

Sense…?

"Ah!"

Crap, I forgot!?

Even though I had entrusted the main vigilance to Toya, I was too relaxed, damn it!

I hurriedly performed [Detection].

Yeah, something is definitely approaching. I can't tell what it is, but it's definitely not a small animal.

The reaction isn't hostile, but it's not harmless either.

"What do we do? Should we confront it?"

"Yeah… If it's not something strange, let's make it our lunch. Haruka, can you move back towards the road a bit?"

"Got it, be careful."

Haruka immediately stopped collecting herbs and moved away from us, retreating to a tree about ten meters away.

The way she climbed the tree smoothly felt very elf-like, but thinking of it as Haruka, it felt a bit off.

Not that Haruka's physical abilities in the original world were bad, but I never imagined her climbing trees.

"Hey, Naoto, it's coming soon. What do we do?"

"Alright, I'll also retreat to a tree. Toya, good luck!"

"What!? I have to do it alone!?"

"Well, I don't have a weapon, right? If it gets dangerous, I'll support you with 'Fire Arrow.' It doesn't seem to be a monster, so you should be fine."

Leaving the surprised Toya behind, I also climbed a nearby tree like Haruka. It wasn't that I was scared and ran away; I just didn't have a weapon.

I had only climbed trees a few times in the past, but it was surprisingly easy.

I climbed up to a sturdy branch and stood there, looking down.

The presence was getting closer, but the dense greenery made it hard to see from the tree.

"…Can't be helped. Alright! I'll do my best! But if it gets really dangerous, help me, okay?"

"Got it, got it. If you get hurt, Haruka can heal you."

"I don't want to get hurt, though…"

With that, Toya also hid in the bushes.

After a while of waiting in silence, a creature appeared on the animal path… probably a boar.

Why "probably"?

Because I've only seen boars at zoos! It's a rather plain animal, so I never paid much attention to it.

It was about two meters long, with tusks about 50 centimeters long, slightly curved and pointing upwards.

—Huh? Are boars' tusks that big?

Oh, right, I have [Help].

Let's see—'Beast (Edible).'

T-That's way too vague!

I probably shouldn't have shouted, but it's reassuring that it can be eaten.

The unidentified 'boar' continued to walk normally towards us but stopped near where Toya was hiding, snorting with its nose.

The next moment, Toya jumped out of the bushes and swung his wooden sword, striking the boar's head.

A dull thud echoed.

"Damn!"

It seemed to hit well, but Toya spat in frustration and quickly retreated.

The boar shook its head lightly, snorted in annoyance, and glared at Toya.

It didn't seem like it was going to run away, but it also didn't seem to have taken any damage.

A clean hit, but this is bad, isn't it?

"Toya! Are you okay?"

"Can't tell! I'll do my best!"

Of course, it's his first battle.

Support… [Weight] might increase the damage from a body slam. Should I use [Time Delay]?

It's the first time I'm using this magic, but fortunately, my magic power has recovered significantly.

With this spell, even if I fail, it shouldn't be too bad.

"—[Time Delay]!"

I extended my hand towards the boar and chanted, and for a moment, the boar glowed faintly and seemed to move slightly slower.

"Toya! The boar's movements are a bit slower, maybe. Don't get your hopes up, but do your best!"

"O-Okay? Thanks anyway!"

Toya's expression was a bit awkward in response to my somewhat vague statement.

Well, it's hard to tell when the boar is just observing, right?

"Alright, here I go! [Charge]!"

The moment Toya said that, his figure blurred and a split second later, he had thrust his wooden sword into the boar's eye.

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