14 Episode 13 Armor and Set Meal (1/2)

I wake up at the sound of the bell, go to the restaurant, eat, and then leave. This is the basic cycle of my life.

But today, I woke up a little earlier than usual. I woke up, but not at the sound of the bell. I go downstairs.

It's even earlier today. The innkeeper is probably still preparing the food.

The innkeeper, who was cleaning, called out to me. I wondered when he was sleeping.

Do you have a recommendation for a restaurant that is still open at this hour?

At any rate, I ask him. You have some money to spare, and sometimes you want to eat a meal at a restaurant other than the one next door (it's important to note that you don't want to be exposed to the loud voice of the old man at the restaurant every morning.

If you're looking for a place to eat near the guild, that's probably a good idea. It's a little bit expensive, but there's a restaurant for adventurers with unstable activity hours, and it's not as good as the one next to ours, but it's good. I'd recommend the adventurer's set menu, it varies from day to day, but it's good.

A restaurant near the guild, or maybe a set meal restaurant?　Let's go there for now.

We've reached the guild. There is indeed a restaurant open, so we go in.

I'm not sure if it's the one the innkeeper mentioned, but there is no other restaurant open. It must be this restaurant.

Come in!

I felt betrayed. It is true that this restaurant is different from the one next to the inn. The owner was also a woman, unlike the neighboring restaurant.

However, there was no difference in the volume of her voice, so I could not expect the quiet meal I had hoped for.

No, the volume has not changed much, in fact it seems to have worsened.

The owner's voice is lower than a standard woman's. She is tall and well-proportioned, and looks manly, but she is a woman. Naturally, her voice is higher than that of the owner of the restaurant.

That's why her voice stings my ears even at the same volume. Give me back my peace of mind.

”Oh, adventurer's set meal, please. ......

I order from the innkeeper's recommended menu, completely depressed. The price is 100 Tel. Naturally, I get a response.

”Hey there!

is the reply. The innkeeper was kind enough to give me two ! mark on it. You're welcome. As usual in this world, the food comes out fast, but it doesn't soothe my broken heart.

I try to eat. The menu consists of some kind of stir-fried meat and vegetables and bread. It's not as good as the restaurant at the inn, but it's good. The bread is similar to that served at the inn's bakery, or rather, it seems to be the same. Maybe they buy from the same bakery.

I paid the money and left the store, my heart but my stomach satisfied.

”Thank you!

Please stop. My life is already zero.

I'm going to collect herbs. You should be able to collect herbs until midday. Then I'm going to have some food and pick up my gear.

It's nice to eat in the forest because you can relax. Thanks to the tentacles, I don't have to be so careful.

Looking forward to the meal, you continue to gather herbs today. When I find a herb, I run up to it, crouch down, snap it off from the root, and store it while standing up to move on. This takes about 3.5 seconds. I'm used to the work, I'm even skilled at it, but I wonder if my speed is a little slow because of the tension.

Anyway, I just keep collecting Zunana grass. After about an hour of collecting, I found something that caught my attention.

It's zunnanakusa. But it's not just zunnanakusa. It's about 12 cm long, and although the price is lower, it's at a level where you can buy it.

But there is no ▼ mark on it. This may not be zunnanakusa, but it may have some value. I will try to evaluate it without picking it.

Zunnanakusa (immature, useful)

Description: An immature herb. It has hemostatic and potentiating effects.

It has a hemostatic effect and a potentiating effect. The potentiating effect may refer to the fact that it becomes more effective when mixed with other medicinal ingredients.

If there are useful things, there may also be useless things. I would like to see the useless ones, so I think only of the immature forms of zunana grass. Since it is not good to overexploit even the small ones, I will leave the immature zunnanakusa alone.

The mark has increased. There are about ten times as many as zunana plants. I'll try to identify the closest one other than the one I've just seen.

Zunana plant (immature, useless)

Description: Unripe Zunana plant. Causes diarrhea and stomachache if taken orally.

Hmm? Isn't this a description of dokuzunana?

But in the appraisal window it says ”Zunana plant”. If I don't believe this, I don't know what I'm supposed to believe.

Does a useless, immature zunana plant change into a dokuzunana? Or is it a completely different kind of immature plant that turns into a useful one as it matures?

Considering that the guild does not buy plants smaller than 10 cm, it may be the latter.

Dokuzunana may have been a mutation that caused it to grow in a poisonous state in the past, but now that it is no longer eaten by animals, it has multiplied. I don't know why the stems are square, though.

And that's all for now. I came here to pick zunnanakusa. I change the display to show an image of ordinary zunana grass.

The lowered tension seems to have returned, and my speed has increased slightly.

Several hours passed as I continued to gather herbs. The sun was almost overhead, signaling noon.

I sat down and took out a loaf of bread from the item box. After all, it is good to eat in peace.

The forest soothes me with its tranquil atmosphere that I can't believe it was ravaged by the herb gatherers just a moment ago.

Now that I'm back in the swing of things, I decide to head back to the guild to pick up my gear, and head up the gentle slope of the forest to the guild as usual.

The Zunana grass is not a burden, but it would be better to deliver it quickly.

When I entered the guild, I found Sally at the counter. One of the two windows is occupied by other adventurers, but luckily hers is empty.

Hello, I'm here to deliver some herbs. I only have until noon today, so I'm a little short.

You take the herb from the item box and place it on the counter. The item box was labeled 252.