Chapter 69

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

While gathering magic mushrooms, they encountered a Vibe Bear.

Toya struck it down with one blow and obtained its meat and fur.

They sold the meat, herbs, and magic mushrooms to Aera and the guild for about 90 gold coins.

"Today was quite profitable! 88 gold coins in one day... I remember when we worked hard for two of us and only got 2 silver coins."

"Including Aera's share, it's 90 coins, Yuki."

Yuki and Natsumi held hands, looking pleased.

I was happy too, but since we had made a killing in Dindur, I wasn't as exuberant as they were.

"Today we got magic mushrooms, but it will be tough from tomorrow on."

Most of the profit was from the mushrooms. Even if we extended the time for gathering herbs, we probably wouldn't make as much as today.

"The mushrooms we didn't gather today won't grow big right away. Is there no other place we can go?"

"If we go to a place we're not familiar with, the risk will increase. The area we covered today is one we've explored gradually over many visits."

Thinking back, at first, we gathered herbs at the edge of the forest.

From there, we gradually learned the terrain and visited the Dindur trees... We've grown a lot.

"Hmm, I'm a bit uneasy about going deeper, but if we stay in the shallower areas, we'll probably only encounter bears like today's. They are a threat, but as long as we're not caught off guard, we should be fine, right? And Naoto is with us too."

"That's true. As long as Toya and I are careful, the risk of being caught off guard is low."

"I agree. Expanding our exploration area is safer than going to look for giant salamanders. We need money, after all."

"If that's the case, let's go in that direction from tomorrow."

"Okay. For today, shall we each do our own training?"

"That's right, it's too late to go out now."

"Understood."

With that, Natsumi stood up, and Toya followed, picking up his sword.

"Hey, Naoto, do you have any other magic books besides the one on space-time magic?"

"I thought about buying some, but I put it on hold due to storage space... Now, it might be on hold due to lack of funds."

"Really expensive?"

"Basic magic books cost about 15,000 rares, and light magic books cost about 36,000 rares."

"Expensive! What kind of price is that!? If you had a bookshelf, you could build a house!"

Indeed. With 10 books, you could buy land, and with 20 books, you could build a house.

If there were a library, you could probably build a castle.

"That's why we can't buy them so easily."

"I see..."

"Yuki, read the beginner's space-time magic book and study. I'll go train outside during that time."

I handed the book to Yuki, who looked a bit disappointed, and I stood up to follow Toya.

If I get too focused on magic, I'll fall behind Natsumi, who is already better at spear skills.

"Ah, thanks. But do I have to?"

"We'll do it later. The backyard is available, but it's too small for five of us."

"Got it. Good luck."

"Thanks."

I waved to the two of them and left the room.

◇ ◇ ◇

'Today, we'll be busy hunting mushrooms.'

Despite our enthusiasm, the weather the next day was rainy.

The rain that started in the middle of the night continued to wet the ground.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back. How was it?"

When I asked Haruka, who had gone to talk to the innkeeper, she shook her head slightly.

"No good. It seems it rains a lot around this time of year."

"Is it like the autumn rain front?"

"Apparently, the calendar in this world has 5 weeks of 6 days each, making a month, and 12 months make a year, with a leap day inserted occasionally."

The days of the week are divided in the order of Light, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Darkness, but there's no concept like 'Sunday is a day off,' so we don't really pay attention to it.

The length of a day is unknown without an Earth-standard clock, but it probably falls within the range of 20 to 30 hours.

If I had the same body as before, I could narrow it down more, but with this body, which has adapted to this world, my internal clock isn't very reliable.

"By the way, it seems the weather only gets bad during this period. There's no rainy season, and it doesn't snow heavily. The temperature in winter is almost never cold enough to freeze the ground, so it's quite comfortable."

In the region where we lived, it would often drop below freezing in the coldest months, so compared to that, it's much better.

However, whether it's comfortable or not...

"Still, we need to prepare for winter. When the temperature drops below 15 degrees, it will be cold with just our current clothes."

"True. Especially for Yuki and Natsumi."

We have leather clothes that we wear as armor. They're not very comfortable due to poor breathability, but they should work as winter wear.

If we could, we'd want clothes that let steam through but not water or wind, but that's probably impossible.

"Still, considering everyone's clothes... we might need to take some risks to spend winter in our own home."

"No, it's not impossible. Even if we can manage the money, we need time to build."

"That's not necessarily true. In this world, it's common to build quickly with many people. It might take only two months."

In Japan, it takes a lot of time because we usually work with a few people or even alone unless it's necessary to have more hands. Here, they use a short-term concentrated approach. They gather people through the adventurer guild and build quickly.

In this case, we can use land where a house already existed, so there are no issues with the foundation.

Moreover, with magic and higher physical abilities than in our original world, it's possible. People can easily carry loads over 100 kilograms.

"Still, it's going to be tight. There will be rainy days, so we need to think of something."

"I don't want to work on rainy days."

"Only hearing that, you sound like a slacker! I agree, though."

Indeed, in Japan, if you said, "I'm taking the day off because it's raining," you'd probably be told, "Are you kidding?" Unless it's in the construction industry or something, I'm not sure.

"We don't even have rain gear, to begin with."

"Even if we had rain gear, it would be dangerous. Compared to animals, we are at a disadvantage because we use tools and walk on two legs."

"True. I don't want to go into the rainy forest unless it's absolutely necessary."

Everyone is negative about working on rainy days.

Haruka nodded with a wry smile but added a caveat.

"I understand, and I'm not going to force you, but eventually, we need to do combat training in the rain. It's dangerous to say, 'We can't fight because it's raining' during a mission."

"That's true."

If it's just us, we can choose to avoid the rain, but if we take a guard mission, we can't. For safety, we need to train eventually.

Speaking of which, I heard that the Self-Defense Forces do combat training in the rain, even if it means getting muddy. And in a disaster, they work hard regardless of the heat, cold, or dirt. I really admire them.

"I'd like to do rain training after we have a bath."

"True. Thanks to Haruka, it's heaven compared to when we were in Saarstadt, but we miss the bath."

"Me too."

Some Japanese people say, "A shower is enough; I don't use the bath," but all of us in this group are bath users, so there's no disagreement on this. Here, we can't even take a shower.

"Alright, let's decide what to do today. The magic users can do their training, but Toya has nothing to do."

Toya doesn't have magic skills, so there's not much he can do indoors.

He can do some strength training, but it's too cramped... It would be hot if he did it next to us. Should Toya move to our room, and I move to Haruka's for training?

"I think... I'll go to the guild to do some research. I remember there's a reference room, right?"

"It's not very large, but you can get information on the surrounding area."

I haven't been there, but Haruka has gone a few times.

It's common for skilled adventurers to gather information on herbs, animals, and monsters before going out. In our case, we can gather useful herbs thanks to our skills, but that's not the norm.

"Then, I might go there too. Increasing my knowledge might power up my [Appraisal] skill."

"That would be good. Our [Help] doesn't change."

The content displayed in Toya's [Appraisal] skill changes slightly based on Toya's knowledge and experience.

[Help] is useful because it provides some knowledge without research, but in that aspect, it's inferior to the dedicated [Appraisal] skill.

Using [Appraisal] extensively doesn't make it omnipotent or easy, but it's a useful skill.

"Then, everyone will basically do their own thing today. Natsumi and Toya... you don't have rain gear, right? What will you do?"

"I'll wear leather clothes. My head... will get wet, but I'll bring a handkerchief to wipe it off."

"I... Naoto, do you have leather clothes? Can I borrow them?"

"Ah, sure, no problem..."

Lending clothes to a girl is a bit nerve-wracking. --No, leather clothes are almost like armor, and I've lent coats to Haruka before when we were in Japan. It's just a bit awkward.

"Maybe we should buy hooded coats? Natsumi, want to go shopping?"

"No, I'm fine for today."

"Really?"

"Yes. Money is important."

With that, Natsumi smiled and I handed her the leather clothes I took from my bag.

I hadn't worn them in a while, but I had Haruka clean them with her [Purification] before putting them away, so they should be fine. They might smell a bit, but it's the smell of leather, not my body odor.

"Well, if Natsumi says so..."

Haruka nodded, but with a slightly reluctant air.

"Oh... Is this... a fight...?"

"Huh? Yuki, what do you mean?"

"No, nothing. Just thought it was a bit interesting."

"Is that so?"

I tilted my head at Yuki, who said this with a slight grin.

I don't understand. Yesterday, she was complaining, "I can't understand the concept!" while practicing space-time magic.

By the way, I don't understand it either. I can still grasp three-dimensional space and gravity, assuming gravitons, but time is difficult.

If I think about it too much, it feels like I'm entering the realm of philosophy rather than physics.

"We should go now. Naoto and the others, study hard."

"Sure. But you guys are the ones who need to study more."

We read magic books and practice.

"That's true. Let's both do our best."

"Agreed."

So, that day, we spent the whole day training.