Chapter 72: Monster Extermination at the Heavenly Wolf Garden
“Did you really come to a commercial nation without knowing that?”
The woman adventurer, introducing herself as Alissa, wore an incredulous expression. She explained that there were six trading companies representing the commercial nation. True to its name, the representatives of each company seemed to be involved in the governance of the nation itself.
“The Rashiyu Trading Company has been consistently posting requests for the collection of Wild Heavenly Wolf Mushrooms from this village for ages. And now, the Mimina Trading Company has set its sights on the Heavenly Wolf Mushroom as well.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yeah. Some people are suspicious about why they would encroach on another company’s territory, but so far, nothing has happened. Well, either way, the requests from the Mimina Trading Company pay better.”
“Regardless, we can’t take those requests since our rank isn’t high enough.”
“Is that so? Well, the deeper parts of the Forest have Silver Wolves roaming about. If your rank isn’t sufficient, don’t even think about venturing too far in.”
“Understood.”
Alissa’s warning about the higher-paying requests was likely due to the numerous postings on the request board. Normally, lucrative requests would lead to fierce competition. I appreciated her advice and decided to ask another question while I was at it.
“By the way, is woodworking a specialty of this village? I noticed there are quite a few sturdy wooden structures and the furniture looks really nice.”
From what I gathered, the timber from the Heavenly Wolf Forest is indeed a specialty, but it seems that very little processing is done in this village. The major production area is said to be the Craftsman City Raven, located beyond the Heavenly Wolf Forest.
“That said, don’t even think about trying to pass through the forest. There’s no proper road, and going through the Silver Wolf’s territory is tantamount to suicide.”
I was promptly warned, but I could simply fly over the forest. Still, I figured it would be wise to check if there were any other routes… I certainly didn’t want to be seen as a reckless adventurer.
“Is that so…? There aren’t any other paths, right?”
“None. You’ll have to detour around the forest, but from here, it’s actually closer to return to the border town.”
I really didn’t want to hear that going back was the closer option, especially if I was heading south.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Ah, don’t mention it. There are quite a few adventurers who go into the forest and never return. Take care of your life.”
With that, Alissa said her goodbyes and retreated deeper into the Guild. Her companions teased her about wanting to chat with a cute boy, but I wondered if they were referring to me.
“If only adventurers knew there were treasures deep in the forest, I bet many would want to go gather them.”
“Yeah.”
I could understand that sentiment. Being an adventurer is like gambling in itself. But just how valuable are Wild Heavenly Wolf Mushrooms?
“For now, let’s take on the request at the Heavenly Wolf Garden as a way to scout the area.”
“Right. Mushroom hunting it is.”
“You can’t hunt mushrooms! We’re hunting monsters, remember?”
And so, we decided to accept the monster extermination request at the Heavenly Wolf Garden.
The Heavenly Wolf Garden is scattered throughout the shallow parts of the forest. Exiting through the eastern gate of the village, we found ourselves in a sparsely wooded area. A straight path continued ahead, but several narrow trails branched off, each leading to the Heavenly Wolf Garden, clearly marked by signs.
After walking for about ten minutes, the density of the trees increased, creating a true forest atmosphere. As we followed a few of the branches, we spotted a fence.
“Is this the place?”
“The sign says Navel Heavenly Wolf Garden, so it seems we’re in the right spot.”
We had arrived at the E-rank extermination request for the Heavenly Wolf Garden. Using Presence Detection, I could sense a figure that seemed to be the caretaker and a few monsters—or perhaps animals—wandering about.
When I approached the elf who appeared to be in charge of the mushrooms, I inquired about the details of the monsters we were to exterminate. It seemed that monsters were constantly drawn in by the scent of the mushrooms. They weren’t particularly strong, but there were many of them, so we could split up to take care of them.
“So, we need to exterminate a total of thirty monsters to complete the request?”
“Yes. Please bring the defeated monsters to me so I can count them.”
“Understood.”
“Then, I look forward to your efforts.”
After saying goodbye to Ms. Navel, whose name was also the garden’s namesake, we set off to begin our hunt. Once we confirmed our catches and received the completion sign, we would be done.
“Wow, so this is how Heavenly Wolf Mushrooms grow.”
I could see mushrooms shaped like matsutake sprouting from the bases and trunks of trees, which were otherwise lush with leaves. It seemed a bit excessive, but I figured it wasn’t my place to comment as an amateur.
I took a whiff, but the aroma wasn’t particularly strong. I wondered if they needed to be cooked to bring out their flavor.
“Alright, let’s get to it!”
“Yeah!”
With Rio raising her hand in excitement, we split up and began hunting the monsters, guided by the alerts from Presence Detection. By the time we had made a full circuit of the Heavenly Wolf Garden, I felt we had gathered a sufficient number of catches.
“Wait, you’re done already?”
Ms. Navel looked surprised as we began pulling our catches from the Dimensional Box. Once we surpassed the target of thirty, the voice counting along with us had gone silent.
“Eighty-three… That should be it.”
Counting while hunting had become a bit tedious halfway through, but I was relieved to see we had indeed met the goal.
“…There were this many?”
After muttering in astonishment, I received Ms. Navel’s signature on our request form, and we left the Heavenly Wolf Garden behind.