Translator: P411

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 154 – Alchemy Materials Obtained.

[ Monster Repelling Incense-Emitting Tree, Old: a tree that emits a scent that keeps monsters away. Periodically, it sprouts a young tree to renew the cycle of growth. Period of transition: A young tree growing from the side will mature after a year. ]

This was the description of the old tree when I appraised it.

Huh, so this tree was in the process of transition. That meant there might be a young tree next to it.

I looked around and saw a small branch-like thing with orange leaves growing out of the ground.

Was this the young tree?

I appraised it again.

[ Monster Repelling Incense-Emitting Tree, Young: a tree that, when mature, emits a scent that keeps monsters away. The young tree does not emit enough scent, so care must be taken. After a year, it will become a mature tree. ]

“Vidello-san. This old tree is in the process of turning into a young tree. It’s a natural process, so I think the other trees might be in the same condition.”

“So we can do nothing about it?”

“Hmm… If everything will be solved as long as we can grow them safely to maturity, then there’s a way. But…” 

If I applied a growth activator to this young tree, it would quickly grow and the problem would be solved, but there was something else to consider.

Once all the trees entered into their re-growth cycle at the same time again, the villagers would have to live in fear of the monsters for a whole year, as growth activator products were inaccessible except to those of farm-related personnel. 

“I wonder if I can ask Kyle-san for help? Would he be willing to travel this far?”

“I think Kyle would come here right away if he was told that the plants were in trouble. So I think it’s fine.”

In the meantime, as an emergency measure, I stealthily took out the small bottle of growth activator from my inventory.

When I applied a bit, the young tree grew with a cracking sound to about the height of my waist. If it only grew this much, it’s fine to apply more. I added more until there was about a third of the bottle left. Then, the young tree suddenly grew to about three meters tall with a great crackling sound.

When it was about the same height as the older trees in the distance, I closed the lid of the growth activator and put it back in my inventory.

When I appraised it again, it had become [ Monster Repelling Incense-Emitting Tree, Mature ]. Feeling relieved, I stood up.

“This should be fine. If the tree enters the transition cycle again, the villagers will have to go to Kyle-san’s place and request a bunch of growth activator potions.”

“That’s Mac for you.”

When I checked the map, I could see the red dots didn’t approach any sections of the tree line. The trees had been planted at a properly calculated range to maximize effectiveness. That was why if one of the trees didn’t emit a scent, an invasion would follow.

As we headed back down the path we took, the player from before and the guards were gathered in front of a house.

“How did it go?”

The player called out to me as soon as he saw me, so I replied that it was fine now.

I wondered if the person beside him was the village chief. Oh, he would be the one who suffered the worst from corruption.

“Are you the one who saved us earlier? Thank you. Still, what do you mean by ‘everything is fine now’?”

I passed the information I had obtained from my earlier appraisal to the village chief.

This also included information about using the growth potions that were only available at farms to accelerate the growth of the trees. 

“If the next old tree enters into its regrowth period, please consult the farm owner in Tre. I’ll let him know the situation here, so I’m sure he’ll take good care of it.”

“Thank you once again. I didn’t know that the trees had such characteristics. I’ll be careful.”

“Okay.”

With this, my job here was done. When I was about to leave, the village chief asked me to wait a moment.

“This is a self-sufficient village without much market circulation, so I can’t repay you in gal, but I would like to thank you even if a bit.”

I couldn’t say no when the chief bowed his head, begging me to take it.

As I waited for the village chief, who had gone into the house, I heard the player-san yawning loudly.

“Ah, damn, the bad status ranked up…”

Ah, it’s almost time for his forced logout.

“Then, I’m off to bed. Sorry, I’ll have to leave now.”

The player-san waved his hand to the guard and headed towards the building that looked like a meeting place with slow steps.

The guard, who also waved back, lifted his helmet.

He then looked at Vidello-san.

“It would make our job a lot easier if there were more manly guys like him, right, Vidello?”

“I agree. Randy, you’re going to be patrolling here for a while?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. A few of us came here to hunt monsters, but since you’ve hunted all our prey, we’re out of work. How are you gonna compensate me?”

“With good news. Mac has already prevented the monsters from getting in, so they won’t come unless you go into the forest.”

“You guys snatched all of my work.”

The guard was swearing, but his eyes were smiling.

I wondered if he was Vidello-san’s friend. I knew the gatekeepers, but I didn’t know much about the guards. But the guy probably knew about me.

“Well, I’ll enjoy myself here for a while, doing whatever is left for me to do. We’ve already talked about using an empty house on the outskirts as our station.”

As he pointed out a house in the distance, the door to the village chief’s house opened.

The chief held a small bag in his hand. The bag was a pretty pink color that seemed a little out of place when the chief held it.

“This was left by my late daughter, and when it was appraised by someone from the city, they couldn’t find anything about this herb. From what I’ve heard, pharmacists know a lot about plants, so maybe this could be of some use to you. If you don’t mind, would you accept this?”

The chief opened the bag and showed me the contents.

Inside the bag were thin, long, red leaves that I had never seen before and, to my surprise, a nanafusa herb.

Could it be…

When I appraised it, it came up as [ Red Hot Sand Leaf : Alchemy Material ]. Could it be-!

“I-is it really okay for me to receive this amazing thing…?”

I wondered if he was that person’s father.

“I don’t know if it’s an amazing thing or not, but I’d like you to have it. It’s hard to find something else to give you.”

“Th-Thank you so much! I’ll use it well…!”

I closed the pouch and put it in my bag. The words displayed in the inventory were [ Sara’s bag ]. Just as expected. The Great Magician’s father and the Sage’s parents were staying in a place like this.

While I got excited by myself, the village chief started talking with the guards, so we decided to leave. 

I had to talk with Crash and then go home. It was almost time to log out.

Our spirits high, we went to the Fondia couple’s house and saw Crash waiting for us in front of the house.

“Hm, Crash, aren’t you staying here tonight?”

“What are you talking about? I have work tomorrow too.”

When I saw Crash, whose face had completely returned to his usual expression, I knew that grandpa was recovering well. 

“Grab on, Mac, Vidello.”

I grabbed onto Crash, who held out his arm, and we were back to Tre in a flash. It’s hard to give up on the idea of a late night date with Vidello, but I’ll ask him out again after I sleep in. 

Come to think of it, I still hadn’t invited him on a date to that magic shop… 

“Vidello-san, when is your next holiday? I was hoping to go to the magic shop with you.”

“I’ll always accompany you whenever you go to a different city, so I’m always available.”

Wow. Having an exclusive escort was amazing. Did this mean we could go on a date whenever we wanted without worrying?

After agreeing on a date, I sold the remaining high potions to Crash and returned to my workshop. Vidello-san made sure he dropped me off in front of my house, but I wondered if he was getting a proper rest. If I thought about it, working two jobs as a gatekeeper and my personal guard didn’t give him much time to relax. I couldn’t just selfishly enjoy it. I had to pray hard, raise my level, and make holy water of a very high rank to make a strong anti-curse potion. 

Let’s work hard.

And the next day came.

Fired up, I changed into my uniform and went downstairs, only to be greeted by my mother, who was serving breakfast, saying, “Hey, isn’t today Founding Day?” I realized today was a day off. I seriously forgot about it…

I had no choice but to sit at the dining table with my school uniform on.

My mother, who had prepared a meal for two, took a seat in front of me.

“Hey Kengo, I have a favor to ask you.”

“What is it?”

While having breakfast together, my mother put her hands together in front of me.

“Today’s my day off, so I made a promise to go out with my friends today. But, our fridge is empty. I’ll give you money, so could you do the shopping for me? Please!”

It was quite unusual for my mother, who’s a workaholic, to go out with friends.

“Okay. Go have fun. Will you be out past dinner? Shall I make dinner and leave some for Dad?”

“Kengo! You’ve grown up to be a good man. Thank you. I wasn’t sure what to do about dinner, but can you make it for me?”

“Sure.”

My mother smiled at my reply, saying she was glad. She must have been really looking forward to spending time with her friends.

I ate my breakfast in silence, listening to her talk endlessly about her plans, where she was going, and what she was going to do today.

Once back in my room, I changed into comfortable clothes and went downstairs to find the money and a note left on the dining table. 

“Mom said I could keep the change as a special allowance, quite generous…” 

There was still time before the shops opened, so I grabbed the money and the note and went back to my room.