NOVEL NEXT Episode 16: Excursion
Morning.
When I saw the small pieces of rock salt, I couldn’t help but frown.
“Hmm…I guess it’s dangerous. At this pace, I think I’ll run out of salt.”
“Oh, already?”
Mystia peeks in from the side.
While we were talking about this, Musubi, who was bathing in salt water, suddenly stopped moving. It jumps out of the bucket and hands it to me.
“No, no, it’s okay.”
Musubi makes bed sheets, tans animal fur and gives me clothes, and even knits grass to make things that look like linen, and is in charge of everything from cloth to leather.
He is not the kind of worker who deserves to be taken away from salt water.
That being said, it would be a problem if we ran out of salt.
“Mystia, where do you get the salt?”
“I collect it downstream. But I think it’s a good idea to have something other than salt on hand. In fact, I always do that when I go to collect salt.”
“Anything other than salt?”
“Yeah. There’s a town of people just a little further down the road from where the rock salt is by the way.”
Mystia probably wants to do that this time as well.
“A town of people… Does that mean they trade or barter?”
“That’s right. I was selling things that I picked in the forest. There were a lot of things, but of course magic stones, but also magical beasts and medicinal herbs.”
“What were you buying?”
“Yes, dye, ink, etc.”
ink.
I see, I want that too.
“–Pepper, etc.”
“let’s go!!!!”
“Wow, you reacted so well. Your face looks so good.”
Mystia is laughing at my reaction.
If you have any seasonings, please let me know first. The range of recipes is expanding rapidly.
“That’s right. Since Soujirou built a base for me, Matsukaze has also eaten plenty of magic stones and started running well. It might be the perfect time to go out.”
“Ah, but if I don’t have anything to sell…I’m in trouble.”
“Hmm, I think that’s okay. As long as it’s Soujirou.”
“Is it so?”
“Yeah, leave it to me to guide you. Then I’ll take you to what you want.”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
So, I decided to head to town.
I packed my things into the leather backpack Musubi had made for me and quickly finished preparing for departure.
However, the backpack that was handed to me was large. With
Well, it might be necessary to put in the things I’ve bought from now on.
Also, even if it’s small, it’s still a magical beast, so it’s no good to just take it to a human village, so Matsukaze is left at home. I entrusted Ukatama with the role of babysitter.
“Thank you. I’ll bring back some vegetable seeds for the garden.”
After making that promise, Ukatama waved his arm to see me off.
Me, Mystia, and Musubi’s members head to town.
“Soujiro has strong legs, so it will take about three days to get to town. Is it okay if we arrive on the morning of the fourth?”
“It’ll take quite a while…”
Even with little baggage and light clothing, it was still quite a distance to walk for three days.
“This is still an elf standard, so it’s much faster than a normal human, right? We’re in the depths of the Divine Tree Forest.”
I can’t complain since I chose to live in such a place.
I proceeded, following right behind Mystia who was leading the way.
Mystia walks through the dense forest without any hesitation. Judging by its appearance, it certainly looks like it’s used to walking in the forest.
As for me, there were similar scenes on both my left and right, so if I was asked to return to the base by myself from now on, it might be a bit impossible. No, it’s definitely impossible.
Besides, it’s not enough just to walk.
“This is harder than I thought.”
Because there will be an attack by monsters.
When I was walking in the forest, a horned rabbit would suddenly appear and attack me.
In such cases, Mystia will let you know in advance.
Besides, if it was a rabbit, Musubi would shoot it down with a string bullet the moment it charged. The string bullet entangled the rabbit in the air and blew it away, leaving it stuck to the rock.
“Spiritual beasts are strong…”
“Even though it’s fluffy.”
“Hey”
Mystia and I were so surprised that we ended up whispering such things to each other.
Mystia, the leader, carries far less luggage and bags than I do.
This is because it serves as a sensor that detects the presence of enemies and the state of the forest, and is the first to respond to sudden encounters.
Mystia warns me every time, so I don’t get attacked by surprise. It’s tough because you often have to change your steps carefully and attack.
“Ah, Soujiro. Maybe we’ll finally meet the big guy.”
“learn”
As I followed Mystia, there was a large snake with two heads that looked like it could swallow a cow whole.
Mystia cut off one of its heads and burned it with magic. I also shatter the other one with
When I approached it, even though it had no head, its tail attacked me, so I used the branch I had picked up nearby as a shield to hit it and “fix” it at the same time.
Hook the tobiguchi on the undulating body and hold it down, “fixing” it to the ground and making it unable to move. I’m glad Mystia warned me in advance that it would work even if you lost your head.
What surprised me was that before I knew it, the head that Mystia had cut off had regenerated.
By that time, I had already blocked my movements, so I only needed to be surprised.
There are some types of snakes that spit out poison, so I used Craft Gear to crush the new neck. His torso trembled for a while, but fortunately he died without regenerating a second time.
“You did it, Soujirou! I can’t believe you were able to defeat Stray Viper with nothing but the head intact!”
Mystia jumped with excitement. Is this amazing?
“Intact magic stones and bile can sell for a high price!”
“Ah, that’s what this was for?”
“I guess that’s true. If you avoid it, you’ll have to take a long detour, but this is a shortcut.”
Come to think of it, Mystia said, “I’ll be fine.”
Did he mean that we should just collect trade supplies along the way…?
In any case, I took out the magic stone and gall of the serpent, and also cut out the meat as much as I needed.
“There will be a few more times when someone just as tough will be there.”
“Do you get it”
Well, I’m using
The road became a little steeper, and we fought off the fourth demonic beast attack and proceeded to decide on a campsite.
While lightly digging a hole and making a bonfire, I set up a post using
A hammock is very convenient for making a simple bed in the forest. When carrying around, it can be rolled up into a small size so that it does not become part of your luggage. By staying away from the cold ground and applying insect repellent to guy lines tied to trees, you can protect yourself from all types of crawling insects while you sleep.
And by the way, if you make it with the cloth that Musubi weaves, it will feel great against your skin.
“Soujiro seems like he could become a great adventurer. He can walk through this forest like he’s just taking a walk.”
“Thanks to God’s blessings. …Besides, adventures don’t suit my nature.”
Mystia and I talked about this while eating a simple meal of roasted snake meat and herb soup brought from our base.
By the way, the snake had a bit of a peculiar smell, but it was really delicious. It’s elastic enough to push back against your teeth, so it seems like it’s nourishing.
This is also something I would like to cook properly someday.
By the way, Musubi was in charge of watching over me while I was sleeping.
I don’t know if the spirit beast sleeps at night, but it’s mostly perched on top of my backpack during the day, so it might actually be sleeping.
I asked him if he could see it even at night.
A thin thread was stretched around the area. I see, that’s clever.
“There’s almost a road, so if you get out there, it’ll take less than an hour to get to the human town.”
It was on the morning of the third day that I was told this.
“You arrived earlier than you said before you left.”
“Well, normally you can’t do it this quickly.”
It seems like that.
“I feel like the forest is also quite different.”
As I continued to advance, I noticed that the trees in the forest were becoming thinner and lower.
Somehow, I feel like the vegetation has changed.
“Ah, did you notice? As expected. Around here, it’s pretty much like a normal forest.”
Judging from Mystia’s reaction, it seems like she was right.
“Still, the magical power is strong. Compared to other areas. That’s why there are so many monsters living around here, and humans are also having a hard time.”
“for example?”
“Every time we clear the forest, we recruit soldiers and fight fiercely against monsters.”
“That’s a fantasy…”
“Also, fields and livestock are targeted by small objects that come out of the forest.”
“That’s a rural village…”
Apparently, in areas where nature is stronger, problems are relatively common.
“But even though it’s a small item, it’s a monster. It looks like it’s going to be a pretty fierce battle.”
“If you fight, you can get magic stones, so you can make money, right?”
I felt the same way, and walked on a course that took me through dangerous parts of the forest.
“I don’t really understand, but he said he wouldn’t. Well, we’d have to hire soldiers by the hundreds, and I think we’d be wiped out by their salaries.”
“Hmm, it’s tough everywhere…”
While we were talking like that, we came out onto the highway.
It’s not an animal trail, but the ground that has been leveled and trodden by humans.
“That’s the town.”
Mystia pointed to the end of the road.
There was a human town called “Brownwals.”