Chapter 34 – Mamia Forest

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The following day, Menew and the others woke up while it was still dark, and ate breakfast.

There was soup with chopped up vegetables, freshly baked bread, and fried eggs. It was quite a nice meal.

(Very civilized… I was getting worried about being punished, since I’ve been camping out a lot recently.)

He was grateful to the innkeeper, who had gotten up early in order to cook for them.

“Adventurers stop here often, so I’m used to it.”

She said as she poured them more soup.

And so it was with full stomachs that they started their journey to Mamia Forest.

“Totto, are you sleepy?”

“No, I’m fine.”

They went through the gates and down a small path off the main road.

After going along the side of the eastern wall for about an hour, they saw the entrance to the forest.

Several groups of Adventurers were already there, and so they approached one of the parties.

A middle-aged man in plate mail greeted them.

“Excuse me. Do you know where we might find the herbs on this list?”

“A quest, eh? …Ah, if you turn left at the forked path up ahead, you will find clusters of these.”

“Thank you!”

They must be veteran Adventurers who had accepted quests at the guild.

As he answered pleasantly, they thanked him and entered the forest.

“Some nice bait…”

Menew and the others did not hear the mutter that came after.

Even in the forest, Totto was able to keep up with them.

But he had collapsed just yesterday. Was he alright?

Ralph wondered.

“Are you really fine with this?”

“Yes. In spite of appearances, I have a lot of energy. Leave it to me!”

But he did not even have much HP. Could they really believe him?

Well, he was keeping up with them without getting out of breath, so perhaps he was fine.

Monsters and slimes just passed them by. None attacked, and so they did not have to defeat any as they arrived at the branching path.

Now they just had to go left.

“We should have asked them about the wood as well.”

“Well, walking around here would be good for learning the terrain.”

“That’s true.”

As Menew talked with Ralph, he noticed that Totto was pulling out plants from the side of the path and putting it in his basket.

“Is that some kind of medicinal herb?”

“They are used for poison and paralysis antidotes. It’s what you’re supposed to gather today. If you mix it with healing herbs, you can make other kinds of medicine as well.”

“You seem to know a lot. But this is our first time, so could you teach us how to pick them?”

“Of course!”

Menew asked, and Totto’s face brightened up.

So with their reliable gathering mentor, they walked for another half hour until they arrived at the clusters of herbs.

It was a clearing in the forest where herbs that looked identical to the pictures on the quest sheet were growing.

“There are two types growing here.”

Totto said immediately.

To Menew and Ralph, they looked the same, but it was different for Totto.

He picked two at his feet and showed them.

“This is a medicinal herb called marmai. This one is gimeari, and it is poisonous. Only pick the ones with rounded leaves. The ones that curve up are poison.”

So you have to pick the ones that are wrapped up. Menew nodded.

However, Ralph was furrowing his eyebrows as if he still could not tell the difference.

Apparently, he was not very good at this kind of work.

There were other items on this list, but those were the ones that Totto had been gathering on the way there. And so they had enough.

He really was a capable companion.

“Alright, then you keep watch, Ralph. There might be monsters nearby.”

“Understood. I’ll also search for some wood materials too.”

(I think that might be too hard for Ralph as well.)

But Menew was wise to not voice such thoughts.

Stand seemed to have taken a liking to Totto, as he perched on the boy’s shoulder while he was picking herbs.

Menew also bent down and began to gather them.

As for Ralph, he went around and inspected the trees at the edge of the clearing.

(Trees really did just look like trees…)

He could not tell the difference.

However, there were some things that he knew.

(These claw marks are from a wild bear. They are still new… It must be mating season.)

This area might be in its territory. There were paw prints as well.

Monsters could be more wild during this time. Perhaps the only reason monsters didn’t attack them on the way here, was because the wild bear had scared them away.

As he continued to search, he realized that he had gone quite far from where the others were gathering herbs.

And the farther he went, the older the traces became.

(This is bad.)

Menew was one thing, but if Totto somehow separated from the group, he would not stand a chance.

And so Ralph rushed back to the others.

Tree roots spread far, and the leaves were wet, which made it difficult to walk. However, it didn’t matter too much for someone as well-trained as Ralph.

“GRAAAAAGHH!”

When Ralph returned, he saw the wild bear standing there on its hind legs, three meters tall.

Menew stood in front of Totto. However, as he had sensed Ralph’s approach, he did not take out his paintbrush.

From behind, Ralph slashed at the bear’s leg, making a shallow cut.

“Grragh!?”

As the bear lost its balance, Ralph went around slashed its chest.

The bear collapsed to the ground. He then scanned the area to see if there was a cub…there was. Its hair was standing up and it looked angry. After all, it probably thought that its mother had been killed.

“Menew…”

He was just about to ask him to heal the wild bear, when they were interrupted by sounds. The footsteps of Adventurers.

“Are you alright!?”

“It-it’s been defeated!?”

“But wild bears during this season are C-Rank!”

While he was no good at telling herbs apart, Ralph was a professional when it came to combat.
He then understood that they had deliberately kept quiet about the bear so that they could come in and help later and demand a reward in return.

Otherwise, they would not have been able to arrive at the scene so quickly.

It was also likely that they did this regularly.

“Menew. This wild bear has a cub. Pease heal it.”

Normally, he would have just scared it away. However, since it was so close to Totto, he had been forced to attack it.

But as Ralph still meant to let it go, he had not killed the bear.

“Uh, yes. Umm… And who are these guests…?”

He was referring to the Adventurers.

“Don’t mind them. Extortionists.”

“I see…”

Totto seemed like he didn’t understand what was happening, and he just sat on the ground dumbly.

And so Ralph went to him while Menew knelt by the bear and cast Heal.

Once the wild bear was healed, Stan began to speak to it. And then the bear and its cub went back into the forest.

However, the ‘guests’ would not leave as easily.

“Hey, why are you letting it get away!”

“We accepted a quest to hunt it!”

“Then you should go and do that. Though, I doubt you can handle it.”

You would probably need to be over level 60.

It should have probably been considered a B-Rank quest. However, it would likely stay away from this place now, so there was little point in hunting it.

He assumed that these Adventurers were level 50 at the highest.

“How dare you! You’re nothing but a filthy E-Ranker and you defeated it!”

And so they rushed into the forest after the bear.

“Uh, do you think they’ll be alright?”

Menew asked Ralph, who was sighing.

“The wild bear?”

“It’s healed completely. Also, Stan told it that there are a lot of people in this area, so it should stay away.”

“Well, I suppose we could send out a rescue request later.”

For the Adventurers, of course.

Menew hoped that they would still be alive by then. However, Ralph had given them a fair warning, so there was no need for them to do anything else.

Besides, after hearing that they were extortionists, he did not feel like helping them.

“Um…I finished gathering everything.”

Apparently, Totto had continued to gather on his own as soon as the bear had left.

Menew and Ralph looked at each other, and then at their brilliant companion.

“Alright, then let’s take a break.”

Suggested Menew, and Totto nodded with a laugh.

Next Chapter

Anything Could Be Manifested Efude no Shoukanjutsushi - Kamieshi ga egaitara nandemo gugenka dekimashita- Paintbrush Summoner: When the God Artist Painted