“Then, Shin-sama, this is your guild card. Please be careful not to lose it, because it also serves as a proof of your rank. And a fee of 10 J silver coins is needed to reissue the card in case it gets lost.”
“I understand.”
Shin accepted the guild card from Celica. The card had his name, rank, affiliation, party described on it. He recalled Cilica’s explanation that the description couldn’t be seen unless a specific tool was used.
“Do you want to take on a request now?”
A bulletin board with requests posted on it was seen. As for rank G requests, something like collecting stuff and other miscellaneous duties were often found. They were less dangerous and therefore less rewarding. Still, the average reward was 1 J silver coin, which seemed to be highly paid.
“How about this? Can I take this request?”
He tore off a request posted on the bulletin board and took it to the receptionist desk. Shin intended to raise his rank by at least one. Still, Celica didn’t say anything about how he had the lowest rank even if she had the information of his rank.
“This request please.”
“This is to collect Hillock Herbs. Because this request is always given, there is no time limit. The reward will be 1 J silver coin per 30 pieces.”
“If I gather 60 of them, will I get 2 J silver coins?”
“Yes, There is always a demand for Hillock Herb, because it’s an ingredient in a potion. Are you okay with this request?”
“Yes, please. Oh, is there a picture book that shows the Hillock Herb?”
“Yes, there is. Please wait a moment.”
Actually, he already saw it in the game, but he decided to confirm its appearance to make sure. The book that Celica brought over from the bookshelf behind the reception was as thick as a dictionary.
She placed the book on the reception desk and exhaled in a small voice.
“Phew, this is a plant encyclopedia. And Hillock Herb…here it is.”
He confirmed the Hillock Herb while thanking Celica who took the trouble of opening the book and find it for him. The plant’s appearance didn’t seem to have changed. Its height was about 10 – 15 cemels with jagged leaves. He was hoping that it wouldn’t be difficult to gather 30 grown plants.
“It grows in the eastern and the northern forest.”
According to the book, Hillock Herb grew in the eastern and the northern forest, especially in the depths of the forest.
“Please be careful as people have been lost in the depth of the forest while searching for Hillock Herbs. You might also get attacked by ferocious monsters if you advance too far.”
“I’ll be careful.”
There were some things better left unsaid. When he went to ‘Tsuki no Hokora’, he had already crossed the eastern forest. The ferocious monsters that he had slaughtered were used to pay for his stay at the inn.
“Take care.”
Said Celica as Shin departed from the guild.
Shin walked toward the east gate, while wondering whether or not he should buy a map .
◆◆◆◆
――In the guild’s lounge room.
Els and Celica had just finished tidying up some documents and were talking about Shin while drinking tea.
“Celica, do you know who that person is, just now?”
“Come to think of it, I don’t know much about him yet. Although one might say I know him, I don’t have much information about him either.”
Shin had only arrived at the guild yesterday, so Celica didn’t know much about him yet. Since he held the letter of introduction, she told Els about his match with Barlux.
“Are you saying the ‘Blue Wolf’ was dealt with easily? Though, even I can understand that he is a considerably strong person.”
Because Celica was her colleague, she talked with her in a comfortable tone. She was originally like that, so it was not a problem for Els to communicate with in her this way. But she had to make sure not to talk like that in public, only when the two of them were alone.
By the way, ‘Blue Wolf’ seemed to refer to Barlux.
There was not much known about that person――Shin.
As Celica introduced Shin to her, Els said something related to her ‘Official Title’.
“Indeed, no wonder I couldn’t see it.”
Els nodded as she understood the story from Celica.
“Is it true, that it wasn’t seen?”
Celica looked at Els in disbelief.
Els was one of the executives with power next to the sub-master within the guild. Els was a skill 【Analyze • Ⅶ】 holder, and at the same time, she held the title ‘Observer’. Therefore, she could even see through the name and level of people whose levels were higher than hers. A fake name could be seen through immediately by her. In fact, Barlux’s level was seen through at the first glance.
When Els said she couldn’t see through Shin, one would wonder who on earth he was.
She didn’t even know if his name, Shin, was true.
“Well, there is no need to worry about it too much. I don’t think Tiera would have handed a letter of introduction to a bad person.”
“Blue Wolf also had the same opinion. Just a little different.”
Celica muttered while remembering the mysterious sense of security she felt from Shin.
“Different…is he? Certainly, his ability and the atmosphere around him don’t match, it’s actually odd…”
“Indeed. How do I say this? It felt somewhat like a sense of security.”
Both of them stopped talking, with a good mood around them.
“I don’t know (I guess)…”
The more they thought about Shin, the more his image became blurred.
In the past, even when they felt uneasy, there was never a time when both of their hearts got riled up.
After he left the guild, Shin went toward the east gate without stopping. At first, he went along the main road, then he changed his path and entered the woods. The eastern forest was a place where rookie adventurers entered routinely. It looked like a place where almost none of the ferocious monsters came forth.
When he happened to pass through the gate, Beid informed him about this. He said that several rookies went to the eastern forest today. Beid was a guard at the south gate yesterday, but apparently the guard would rotate after a certain period of time. He seemed to be guarding the east gate now for a while.
Easy quests could be done in 30 minutes in the game. He planned to finish this quickly, and then go to a library afterwards. Shin hastened his pace.
Even if the place was said to be fine for rookies to enter, the forest was dark and filled with trees. Beid said that there were only low-level demons or wild beasts, but it was still frightening for Shin as he was not yet accustomed to it.
Without putting too much trust in the information, he looked for the Hillock Herb cautiously.
If Shin’s memory was correct, it should grow in places the sunlight easily gets to.
Since he heard that the Hillock Herb could be harvested easily, he thought that he could finish quickly.
◆◆◆◆
“…This isn’t it.”
He had entered the forest 3 hours ago.
“…This isn’t it either!”
Number of harvests… zero.
“…Noooo!!”
Not a single Hillock Herb was found yet.
It had been a while since he entered the forest triumphantly. Despite walking with the reliance of his memory, he wasn’t able to find even one herb.
“It’s strange…No matter how much I look for it, not even one can be found.”
It was strange because he had been slowly going deeper into the forest to find some. There were no signs of adventurers around so it was not likely that someone picked them all before him.
“Should I go a little deeper?”
The information from the encyclopedia stated that it was easier to find them deeper in the forest. Naturally, the surroundings became darker and the signs of wild animals could be felt everywhere.
He devoted himself to search for the plant without any encounters with monsters. As he advanced a little more, he went towards places monsters didn’t go to, and looked at the surroundings.
Even with a full search, he couldn’t find an open place where the sunlight hit the ground. Though he searched for likely places one after another, there were no signs of them, instead there were bushes and tree roots everywhere.
“I’m feeling hungry…”
The sun was already high in the sky, so it was about afternoon. He had walked forever and his stomach was growling because he hadn’t eaten lunch.
“Should I eat some food?”
Because his hunger was near the limit, and as a change of mood, he decided to have lunch.
He put his lunch from the ‘Item Box’ on a stump and began to eat. On the menu was hot dog and cola. The food items stored in the ‘Item Box’ do not rot as time progresses. He entered the forest without buying food beforehand, because he could store food items in his ‘Item Box’.
Though the food originally had special effects such as stats rise or HP recovery and so forth, somehow those areas were unavailable, so the effect couldn’t be felt.
In addition, there were various other luxurious food items but they seemed to be treated as normal food. Even if it had special effect, there might be no time to eat the food while fighting a monster.
“Mmm, myum, fuu… Well then, shall I search for it?”
Without wasting any time, he finished his lunch. A characteristic of junk food was being able to eat it fast. He ate it quickly because he could be in trouble if a wild animal and a monster came, tempted by the smell.
Though he went to search for the Hillock Herb again, it still could not be found.
Another 3 hours later, after he ate lunch, it was rather refreshing; he had still found nothing. The Hillock Herb might just have been picked exhaustively, thought Shin.
After one more hour, Shin decided to return to the inn because he was tired. Though it was possible to go on physically, he felt mental fatigue after not being able to find what he was looking for.
When he arrived at the gate, the guards had been changed. It seemed that the guards took turns and patrolled in a rotational fashion.
He found Beid among the soldiers who returned from patrol and exchanged a few words while he