“Not bad, not bad at all,” Reidus said, his first words upon reaching the Mana Hotspot, sounding quite satisfied.
As their hired guide, he seemed relieved that they were likely to achieve their objective.
“Sulfa, this is it. The Maso Meter needle should be jumping around like this. I don’t know why, but the Maso Density is high in this whole area. And when the Maso Density is high, Medicinal Herbs grow.”
“…Is there a reason the Maso Meter needle fluctuates?”
“Hmm? Hmm, I wonder. I think it stops if you leave it for a while, but it’s not like the needle ever stops completely. It just is what it is.”
“I see. Understood.”
＜Cosmos＞ decided that this Maso Meter was worth acquiring. Immediately, she instructed the terminal in North End City to search for one.
“Chris, Atro, over here. This is Mugwort. We harvest the leaves and use them. It’s a material for burn ointment.”
Glaver pointed, and Chris—Beta Chrysanthemum=Cosmos—began to observe with great interest.
“Burn ointment?”
“By applying it to external wounds, it suppresses inflammation and prevents suppuration. It also speeds up the healing of wounds. It’s that kind of Magical Potion.”
Mugwort. ＜Ringo＞’s image analysis indicated it was similar to Japanese mugwort.
“Aim to harvest about half of the leaves from one plant. That way, you can harvest again in about three days. Over-harvesting is strictly prohibited.”
“Does this only grow in Hotspots?”
“No. It also grows in Grasslands. However, only the ones that grow in Hotspots are effective when made into Magical Potions. You see it in various places, even in vacant lots in the city. You can eat it normally too.”
While explaining, Glaver plucked the leaves with a snap and placed them in a woven basket.
“For now, we’ll harvest this basket full of Mugwort today. Also, regarding the party’s roles, I’m usually the one who handles this kind of gathering. Reidus is in charge of perimeter警戒, and Nadira is my bodyguard.”
“Role assignment, huh? Certainly reasonable. But do you always act as a trio? Wouldn’t it be good to increase the number of gatherers?”
The more workers, the better.
That was a typical thought from ＜The Tree＞, which had mastered mechanical civilization.
“We’ve been thinking about that from time to time, too.”
And it was Reidus, the party leader, who answered that question.
“If we increase the number of gatherers, we have to increase the number of guards to protect them. If we increase the number of guards, the number of people increases. We have to increase the equipment and food accordingly. More than anything, there’s such a thing as compatibility between people. You absolutely can’t spend days in the Demon Forest with someone you don’t get along with. If we’re going to increase the number of people in our party, we have to find two people at the same time, but…”
“Besides, we’ve been together since we were kids. We know each other inside and out. I don’t have the confidence to get along well with new members now.”
Incidentally, the custom for Adventurer parties seems to be three to five people, or six at most. Three people seems a bit small, though.
Even so, their trio party was stable, had good personalities, and, above all, was skilled.
It was no wonder they were chosen as guides requested by ＜Paraiso＞.
“I see. Certainly, human relationships are difficult.”
“That’s enough Mugwort for now. Next is this, but are you okay?”
While they were talking, the harvesting of Mugwort leaves seemed to be over. Glaver roughly cut the grass around the Mugwort plants and stood up.
“Besides these Medicinal Herbs, ordinary grass also grows here. It’s customary to cut away the unnecessary grass like this, so it’s easier to harvest next time.”
“Is that recognized as hunting ground etiquette?”
“That’s right.”
Glaver nodded and walked to the next Medicinal Herb location.
“This is Mini Onion. Well, judging from the smell, it’s the same type as the vegetable onion. The ones growing here are a type where the bulb at the base doesn’t get very big. The ones sold in the city markets are bigger, but these are Medicinal Herbs.”
He dug around the base of the dense, elongated leaves protruding from the ground and pulled out several plants from the edge.
As explained, the base was swollen to a size of about 2 cm in diameter.
In appearance, it was certainly a small onion.
“We’ll only take half of these too. However, we’ll dig them all up for now, then bury half of them back. When burying them, we’ll divide the plants and plant them a little apart. That way, they’ll increase on their own, and we can harvest them again next time. It takes a little time for these to grow, about five days to return to normal.”
Glaver explained, but it was quite an unscientific (fantasy) plant that it would grow and multiply in about five days.
“We use the bulb at the base of the Mini Onion. The leaves are unnecessary. The bulb is a raw material for oral medicine. Its effect is body activation. It also promotes the recovery of Magical Power. It’s effective even if you eat it as is.”
“What about the storage of Medicinal Herbs, including the Mugwort from earlier?”
“Mugwort can be stored for several months if dried. Mini Onions last for a few weeks if not exposed to sunlight.”
While explaining, Glaver didn’t stop working. He dropped the leaves, dropped the roots, roughly shook off the soil, and packed them into the newly taken-out woven basket. And, as explained, he buried about half of them back into the soil.
“There’s one more Medicinal Herb growing here. Ah, it’s right at Chris’s feet. Taraxacum.”
＜Ringo＞ identified it as dandelion. Green, jagged leaves spread out radially, and yellow flowers bloomed at the end of the stems extending from the center.
“For this one, we’re aiming for the larger plants. We use the root. You can eat the leaves, but they’re not very tasty, and they have no medicinal effect.”
Glaver looked around and sat down next to a relatively large plant.
Using the slender digging tool in his hand, he dug up the Taraxacum, roots and all.
“There are a lot of Taraxacum growing around, so you can take the big ones first. Even if you take them all, seeds will fly in from somewhere. Well, the small ones can’t be used for medicine, so there’s probably no way you’d take them all.”
The root of the Taraxacum was quite thick and impressive. He dropped the upper leaves, shook off the soil, and put it in the new woven basket as well.
“The medicinal effects of Taraxacum are to speed up wound healing and to relieve fever and pain. It’s a raw material for oral medicine. If you dry it, you can use it without any problems for about half a year.”
Glaver dug briskly, collecting Mini Onions and Taraxacum one after another.
Chris and Atro watched the scene intently. Sulfa slowly looked around.
“Normally, we only take what we can carry back ourselves. So the amount is limited. But if we can load it onto the Backpacker behind us, this kind of gathering activity will be more efficient.”
“…I see. By the way, do you think the Backpacker will be targeted by Monsters?”
“I wonder. You never know why Monsters attack. If it’s because we entered their Territory, they’ll probably attack. If it’s for hunting, that Backpacker doesn’t look like an animal. I don’t think they’ll be actively attacked.”
Not much is known about the ecology of Monsters. Even these three experienced people only know superficial things.
They are Adventurers, not researchers. Therefore, they know the behavioral patterns of Monsters, but they don’t think about what they mean. There’s no need to think about it.
“Most Monsters have an animal that they were originally based on. Some of them don’t look anything like them… Anyway, even after becoming Monsters, their behavior is similar to the original animal. Similar, but not exactly the same. We Adventurers try to avoid them as much as possible, or trap them and fight them.”
Although they were called Adventurers, these three had cautious personalities. They were perfect for guides, but they weren’t very interesting. In terms of ＜Paraiso＞’s goal of researching Monsters and, by extension, magic, they lacked a bit of inquisitiveness.
However, ＜Paraiso＞ could act on that point themselves.
No, they might even be hired as local researchers.
In any case, the trio party was very excellent from ＜Paraiso＞’s point of view.