The Plains of Plenty
The merchant caravan's carriage rolled forward without stopping, wheels churning steadily over the dirt road. At Paula's shout of "Kron Village is in sight!" the vast plains village began to unfold before us.
Before reaching the noble's domain, the caravan had decided to stop here for maintenance. We'd stay roughly three days—repairing the carriages, restocking food supplies, and giving the hired hands enough rest before setting out again.
"Haaaa~ Nothing beats a real bed after sleeping on the ground!" Our party claimed an inn first. The moment we stepped into the room, Syucali collapsed onto the bed and closed her eyes.
"I should take a look around the village and buy what we need for cooking." We'd sell the monster loot and gathered herbs we'd picked up along the way. While we were at it, I planned to visit a restaurant or two to hunt for spices and seasonings.
"What should I do?" Eos set her luggage down and stared at me.
"Do you need anything?"
"No."
"Are you tired?"
"No."
"Is there something you want to..."
"Take revenge on the Silver Demons..."
As a demon herself, it seemed she had nothing she particularly wanted to do in the village. "Then just follow me around."
"Yes, Master."
I couldn't simply leave her alone. I still didn't know everything about her, after all. It seemed best to keep her close for a while and observe.
"I'll come too."
"You rest. You were up all night scouting. Eos and I will take a look around the village and come back."
"I'm fine though~" Syucali said, but she didn't budge from the bed. Leaving her to rest, the two of us stepped out of the inn.
Creak... click...
"Black-hair, care to join me for a drink?"
As soon as we left the room, Damo—the female warrior I assumed was the leader of her own party—waved a wooden mug full of beer at me from the central hall.
"I'll have to pass this time. I've got things to do."
"Everyone else is resting."
"Why not relax and enjoy yourself for a day?"
"That's right. How many more days of walking do we have ahead of us?"
The others in what I guessed was her party seemed to agree. "If I have time later, I'll join you," I said with a slight bow before leaving the inn.
"That guy is supposedly an F-rank adventurer, but he didn't lose an inch to the X-Beast."
"Exactly. I wonder what the Black-Haired One has going for him?"
"He cooks well, and he even got the carriage moving again."
"He's got a lot of talents."
"No wonder Isabella hired him."
"Yeah, Isabella loves competent people."
The chatter from inside the inn followed us out.
"Looks like the rumors are getting exaggerated again."
"You seem to like it, Master."
"Better than being looked down on."
We left the inn behind and walked along the village streets. This was my first time in a village other than Cashew Village, and the overall atmosphere felt completely different.
Cashew Village felt heavily surrounded by forest, so it gave the impression that herbs and monsters were abundant nearby. Kron Village, however, spread out across wide-open plains. The village entrance had a river flowing through it, so there was no worry about water. 'That must be why it's become a granary region.'
With open plains and plenty of water, it was naturally optimized for farming. The reason Isabella stopped at this village before heading to the noble territory was probably to fully stock up on food supplies.
"There should be plenty of grain here."
"You look rather pleased, Master."
"Our bread supply just ran out. We should be able to replenish it here without any problems."
"So that's why..."
When I first came to this world with nothing, I was always anxious. Thinking back on those days, filling in what was lacking felt enjoyable no matter when it happened.
"Your luggage will get heavy."
"It's not heavy, so it's fine."
"It looks difficult for me to watch."
"Hmm... I suppose it can't be helped."
Eos let out a small sigh. "Once the mana seal is released, the first thing I'll do is create a subspace for you, Master."
"Subspace... you can make one?"
"Yes. At the very least, it will be several times larger than the backpack you're currently carrying."
"That sounds good."
While we explored the village, it might be worth looking for a way to release her mana seal. The luggage itself wasn't heavy, but every time people saw me, their eyes were drawn to it. On top of already having black hair, carrying such bizarrely oversized loads naturally drew comments from the adventurers' mouths.
Together with Eos, I headed for the general store.
Ting-a-ling... Ting-a-ling...
"Welcome!" The store owner was a man.
"I've come to sell some goods."
"Hmm? A gentleman, I see. Please, come this way." He smiled brightly after hearing my voice.
"May I see them?"
"Here they are."
I showed him the claws and hide we'd obtained from the X-Beast. "These look freshly harvested."
"Yes, about two days ago."
"In that case... hmm... the hide is worth two gold and eight silver. The claws should go for about four gold."
"Sounds good."
"Anything else?"
"I also have some gathered herbs."
"You even gathered herbs? Let me take a look."
While walking alongside the carriage, I'd collected every mana-infused herb I could find. I wasn't exactly sure what kind of herbs they were or what effects they had, but I decided to trust the store owner's eye.
"These are..." The store owner frowned as he looked at the laid-out herbs. "Please wait a moment."
He rummaged through the bookshelf behind him and pulled out a book.
Flip flip flip...
The opened book contained illustrations of herbs, explanations, and their uses.
"This is... Flame Path Grass, used to make fire resistance potions. Next is Moon Detox Herb. And this... the Night Glow Root that's good for men...!"
Most of the herbs I'd gathered matched the pictures in the herbal encyclopedia.
"I'll buy them all!" He looked like he'd just struck it rich.
"Very well."
Since we had to travel with the merchant caravan, these were herbs we'd have to discard if we didn't sell them here. Even one silver would be profit.
"Here's fifteen gold."
"Fifteen gold..." I was genuinely surprised. I'd expected maybe one or two gold at most, but he was buying everything for fifteen gold. It was more than what we'd earned from the X-Beast loot.
"If you gather more in the future, I'll purchase them. Especially bring me plenty of that Night Glow Root."
"Understood."
Just herbs I'd picked up while walking had earned me fifteen gold. It was far easier than taking adventurer quests and struggling to hunt monsters. Of course, only people interested in herbs would want to buy them, but this kind of income was extremely satisfying.
"By any chance, do you also appraise magic stones?"
"Magic stones, you say? Let me see them."
I took out the magic stone from the goblins and the one the X-Beast had been carrying.
"These are common magic stones. They don't have much value, but mages will be happy to see them."
"I see. Thank you."
"No, thank you. Night Glow Root... my wife will be very happy tonight. Hehehe."
I could guess what the store owner's lewd chuckle meant. In this world, men were physically weaker than women. That applied at night as well. If he clung to the Night Glow Root with a happy expression, it probably meant he was being scolded for being inadequate in bed.
"Then I'll be going."
"One moment." The store owner stopped me. "Are you an adventurer, by chance?"
"Yes." I showed him my adventurer tag to prove it. The store owner nodded.
"Well... I'd like to request something from you. I'll even pay the registration fee required to post a quest."
"A request, huh... We're leaving the village in three days, so I can't go too far."
"It won't even take a full day. If you follow the river path in the center of the village upstream, there's a massive rocky mountain with a blue-light vein running through it. Just bring me about one bundle of Blue Light Stone."
"Blue Light Stone..."
"You seem to have a good eye for rare herbs, so you should have no trouble finding the vein."
The store owner seemed confident after seeing how I identified the herbs.
"How does seven gold as the reward sound?"
"I'll do it."
"Thank you. Haha. Oh! Make sure to bring a pickaxe when you go."
It seemed mixing Night Glow Root and Blue Light Stone created some kind of tonic that was good for men. The medicine the female general store owner in Cashew Village had given me as a gift had increased my Stamina by 20. This was probably something with a similar effect.
While I was at it, I decided to mine plenty of Blue Light Stone and mix it with Night Glow Root myself. Since it was good for men, I wanted to make it personally. Or I could leave it to Syucali—it wouldn't be a bad idea.
"I'll be back soon." I left the general store. Eos followed right behind me.
Once we were back on the village street, I looked toward the rocky mountain behind the village. "Let's go, just the two of us."
"Yes, Master."
If I brought Syucali, we'd finish the request easily, but right now I wanted to test how well I could work with Eos. If I faced monsters head-on, I wanted to see her magic flying in from behind. Her magic wasn't perfect yet, but if we positioned ourselves well, it should make fighting monsters much easier for me.
Gurgle...
"Ah... I'm sorry."
"We should eat before we head out." For the first time, Eos showed an embarrassed expression. She pulled her robe deeper over her face, not wanting me to see.
"If you're hungry, just say so. I don't want you holding it in and causing bigger problems later."
"Yes... Master."
Sometimes I noticed little cracks in Eos's otherwise perfect demeanor. Maybe that was why my perception of demons was gradually becoming more comfortable. Of course, I could sense that Eos didn't want to cause me any trouble, but I didn't want her basic physical condition to deteriorate. That was why I cooked for her and paid attention to cleanliness.
"Let's go into that restaurant over there."
"Um... Master."
"Yes?"
"I want to eat your cooking, Master..."
"...Understood."
To think she'd say exactly what she wanted so directly. It seemed she'd learned that from watching Syucali.