episode_0011

In the world I used to live in, there was a mushroom called the pine mushroom, considered a high-grade ingredient.

Popularly known as truffles, they are so rare and expensive that they are often called the “diamonds underground.”

Since pine mushrooms grow underground, it’s difficult to distinguish where they are with the naked eye, so a special method is used when harvesting them.

This method involves using well-trained dogs or pigs called truffle dogs or truffle hogs.

I checked the market prices of almost all potion ingredients found in the nearby land with Filstone, the owner of the Kubele Refinery.

I went through the medicinal herbs in the boxes one by one, selecting a few high-priced ones for Meruru to memorize.

“Meruru, what do we need to find?”

“The Blessing of Freya, Asura Roots, and Troll Mucus Mushrooms!”

As I emerged from the forest near Kubele, I reviewed the medicinal herbs with Meruru that I had checked at the refinery.

“What are Asura Roots?”

“Meat skewers!”

“And Troll Mucus Mushrooms?”

“Deluxe steak set!”

“Lastly, what is the Blessing of Freya?”

“It’s a daily meat party!”

“Great!”

I patted Meruru’s head for her excellent answers.

Meruru wasn’t particularly good at remembering things, so to firmly imprint the value of the medicinal herbs in her mind, I had her remember them as things to eat.

Meruru’s love for food also helped boost her enthusiasm for the harvesting task.

The goal of the harvest was the three particularly high-priced medicinal herbs shown by Filstone at the Kubele Refinery.

Asura Roots were 5 silver per piece.

Troll Mucus Mushrooms ranged from 30 to 70 silver per piece depending on quality.

And the herb named after the goddess, known as the Blessing of Freya, was a whopping 10 to 15 gold per piece.

Of course, the Blessing of Freya was so rare and expensive that the chances of actually finding it were almost nonexistent.

Still, since we were already utilizing Meruru’s skills, it seemed like a good idea to aim for a big win.

Even if we couldn’t find the Blessing of Freya, finding the other two medicinal herbs would still be a substantial profit.

“Alright, let’s go! Meruru!”

I pointed towards the forest and shouted.

At this moment, I became Meruru’s trainer.

Let’s see how much we can find.

Meruru, I believe in you!

* * *

I’ve heard from elderly hikers that once it starts getting dark, you should immediately leave the mountains and forests.

In the forest, it quickly becomes pitch black, making it dangerous to linger around.

Since today was mainly about testing Meruru’s potential, we decided to withdraw a bit earlier.

If we went too far and the sun set, the chances of encountering monsters would increase.

We returned to the entrance of Kubele and checked the results Meruru had gathered today.

We had 8 Asura Roots.

But we couldn’t find the Troll Mucus Mushrooms or the Blessing of Freya.

Calculating based on the prices Filstone had told us, it amounted to 40 silver for the Asura Roots.

For a first attempt, it wasn’t bad at all.

Perhaps it was because Meruru was still getting used to the work.

Even if we spent 30 silver on an inn room, we could still buy two meat skewers with the remaining 10 silver.

It was much more stable than wandering around looking for a job that may or may not be available.

Although it wasn’t a large amount, on our way back, we stopped by the Kubele Refinery and immediately sold the Asura Roots we had harvested today.

Filstone carefully inspected the condition of the Asura Roots we brought, brushed off the dirt, sniffed them, and silently handed over the money.

As the 40 silver from selling the medicinal herbs actually entered our pockets, I finally realized that this was money.

Maybe we can make something out of this.

The adventurer’s dream, which had felt so distant, suddenly felt within reach.

“Meruru, I’m hungry.”

As soon as we left the refinery, Meruru looked slightly tired as she spoke to me.

“Don’t worry, I’ll buy you something delicious! Let’s eat well and then go dig up more, more expensive herbs!”

“Since you worked hard today, let’s eat what you want!”

“Really?! Can I really eat what I want?!”

“For under 20 silver.”

“Even if you say that, I don’t know what to order.”

Meruru looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I found her adorable, like a little puppy, and couldn’t resist.

* * *

“Alright! Let’s go, Meruru!”

“Meruru! We’re going!”

In the forest near Kubele.

I once again pointed Meruru in various directions with my finger, instructing her to search for herbs.

It had been a week since we started using herb collecting as a source of income, and Meruru had become completely familiar with the task, finding more and more herbs.

Most of the herbs we collected were the cheapest 5 silver Astrala roots, but the income was still significant.

A few days ago, we were lucky enough to find Troll Mucus Mushrooms, and the money was starting to add up.

“Utilizing Meruru’s skills to make money, Yunoa was becoming addicted to the taste of earning money.

But he was forgetting that without Meruru, he was just a pathetic human who couldn’t earn money.

He was simply using the innocent Meruru.”

As Meruru diligently searched for herbs in the forest, the narration criticized me.

“Indeed, we can’t rely on this income forever.”

I took the narration’s criticism as a warning.

Even though Meruru was responsible for most of the income, as long as I didn’t forget my initial goal of becoming an adventurer, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Although Meruru lacked social skills, I took care of tasks like selling herbs, renting inn rooms, and ordering meals.

While what I did for her was minimal compared to what she did for me, she relied on me.

We were currently in a mutually beneficial and satisfying relationship.

“Yunoa! I found a high-quality steak set!”

Meruru smiled brightly and shook my hand.

If it was a high-quality steak set, it must be the Troll Mucus Mushroom.

A rare herb that could fetch up to 70 silver based on top-grade standards.

Meruru referred to all herbs by food names, after teaching her that way.

“Oh, it does look good.”

“No matter how well hidden, Meruru will find it all!”

“Well done. Well done.”

I patted Meruru’s head as she stood proudly with her hands on her hips.

In just a week, we had already accumulated 8 gold coins.

I never thought we would get so close to my goal of 10 gold coins so quickly.

I could afford a proper inn room every day, have enough food, and still save up this much.

I used to not understand the elders who roamed the mountains looking for herbs like ginseng, but it’s kind of addictive.

“Hmm….”

“Yes? Meruru, what’s wrong?”

Meruru stood still, furrowing her brows, not looking for the next herb, so I asked.

“There’s nothing left around here.”

“Has everything been picked clean already?”

That’s right.

There was one issue with the herb collecting work.

Once you dig up the herbs, you can’t dig them up again in the same spot.

It would be nice if there was a respawn like in games where you could dig up the same spot after sleeping for a night.

But we had already dug up all the herbs near the Kubele, so they had dried up and withered.

Changing the target to different herbs seemed unprofitable because the unit price was too low.

“Hmm.”

I pondered for a moment.

I was hesitant to give up the herb business because money was somewhat tight.

So far, I had been working within a safe distance from the Kubele, fearing that monsters might appear if we went too deep into the forest.

But by limiting the work radius like that, the resources were depleted faster than I had expected.

It might be a little risky, but there was no other choice.

“Meruru, should we go a little deeper inside? There should be plenty of herbs left to dig up over there.”

Just a little bit deeper into the forest, there might be herbs that we haven’t dug up yet.

If it feels too dangerous, we can always run away.

With that in mind, I took Meruru and moved deeper into the forest.

* * *

“Wow-! There’s so much of it! There’s a ton of it-!”

Meruru, full of enthusiasm, ran around, cutting through the bushes and shouting.

Wherever her hands touched, Aesulla roots sprouted in pairs.

Even the Troll Mucus Mushrooms, which were hard to find one a day, had already been dug up in pairs.

Just by going a little deeper into the forest, there was so much to collect.

At this rate, it seemed like we would be able to gather enough money to buy adventurer equipment for the day and have some left over.

“Shh- Meruru, don’t shout too loudly. We don’t know what might come out.”

I lightly cautioned the excited Meruru.

This was the first time we had gone so deep into the forest, so I kept an eye out for any potential dangers.

If a monster appeared, I planned to run away without looking back.

“Yunoa! Yunoa!”

Then, Meruru called me with an even more excited voice than before.

“Meruru, please be a little quieter.”

“It’s a meat party every day!”

For a moment, I thought, what is she talking about, are you hungry…?

Realizing the meaning behind Meruru’s words, my eyes widened.

A meat party every day.

In other words, Freya’s blessing.

Could it be the herb that boasts a crazy price of 10-15 gold per piece that we had never found before?

“What?! Really? Is that true?”

“It’s there! I can feel the meat party every day!”

Meruru ran excitedly and disappeared into a dense bush.

“Hey! Wait! Slow down!”

I hurriedly followed the excited Meruru.

And shortly after, I witnessed a strange sight.

“Whoa-!”

Meruru had her face buried in a large, blue jelly-like mass.