The next morning at school, Kaito is complaining about it.

'This quest, you're putting too much priority on Freetia...'

I'm the wrong person to talk to. What?　Is that the way it works on the board?

'Oh... there's a lot of noise about the management being biased or something... there's nothing good to fight for, so the number of people logging in has dropped dramatically...'

I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get away with it.

But I don't want people like that to say that I'm favoritism towards Freetia.

I've heard a lot of talk about how the Empire is so rich that other countries are sending help.

Then Kaito jumped on the subject.

'Wait a minute!　What's that story?　I'm not listening to you!

'How would I know what's going on in the Empire?　It's just that our kings have been talking about it.

'So the Empire is going to have reinforcements from other countries to defeat the zombies?

Maybe. There's no way Freetia is the only thing we can capture, right?

Then Kaito comes up with an idea.

''Eh... because I haven't heard anything from those guys, right?　Well, no way!　Those guys!

What's going on?

'Maybe the information was kept under wraps... there are other players in the Empire like Seigo who have close ties to the country, but they didn't say anything about reinforcements.

So you're saying that he deliberately hid it... for what? It would be a reward.

If reinforcements from other countries are coming in and the win is confirmed, then everyone will be working diligently on quests for their country. Then there's a risk that the good ones won't come to them after they complete the quests.

''But I have a feeling that if we do nothing too much, we'll fail the quests...''

I think they know what I'm talking about.　That's why he should be posting about reinforcements on the board today.

I see... we'll do plenty of quests ourselves, then release the information and complete the quests...

I'm sorry for your loss.

'd*mn it!　They're disgusting!

Kaito, shut up!

All of his classmates warned him about it. Kaito tried to put the information up first on the board in a bad way, but it seems it was too late.

Kaito says that no one will believe him if he fusses over one person that he was keeping the information secret after all this time.

It's tough on the Imperial side. Let's let Freetia all work together and complete the quest.

When school ends, Kaito dashes out of class in a mad dash and bumps into the life guidance teacher and is taken away.

That guy...not so lucky.

I log in to the game after shopping at the supermarket.

I'm going to break through the Yellow Ossa forest before nightfall. Because we're in danger of being attacked by the Orca Tengu.

First, Setia and Mir will collect at the spring. Then it's time for the felling of trees as promised by Setia. While looking for a tree, we found the famous New Year's tree.

Pine: Rarity 6 Material Item Quality C-.
Wood that is considered a symbol of longevity and contains high levels of flammable resin. This makes it ideal for bonfires, and charcoal is used for blacksmithing. It can also be used to make paper, and if you collect soot from bonfires, you can make ink from it.

Wha, what? Was pine that good of a wood? Oh, perfect for a bonfire, perhaps the torches are about to come? As I was thinking about this, Setia made a noise.

'Ta, Mr. Tact!　It's a pine tree!　I can't wait to get it!

I knew it was a good material.

'Of course!　With a wand, you can expect to get a fire magic boost, and best of all, the resin is used as a non-slip tool!　My hands won't hurt as much to use the bow and strings!

Oh... come to think of it, I've heard that bows and such often hurt your hands. I'm sure Setia and Rian would love to have something to prevent that.

So I'm going to start the felling process!

A memorable first blow will break the axe. Huh...I knew it. I got an intermediate axe before I even got here. Still, I wanted to give it a try.

So I start the logging process and go, the resin is wasted all over the place, so Setia and Mir rush to collect it, but I don't have enough manpower. I call Aeon and Rian and we all gather it together. We decide that it's too much to get out of the bottle, so we go back once we decide it's too much.

Since Hugues wasn't there, Moch tells me that he doesn't know where the empty barrels are sold. It's just as well he was born and raised. So we got a lot of barrels and went back.

We were able to identify the resin.

Matsuyani: Rare Level 6 Material Item Quality C-
A natural resin from pine trees. It is used for fuel, adhesives and non-slip products.

I can't help but notice the "fuel" section. Well, for now, let's just focus on harvesting.

Two hours.

I managed to take one down.

'Zee...zee...nah...do you have a count of how many times you've...swung the axe?'

'Well... it's been over a hundred times, I think.

You're right! It helps that Aeon and the others praise me so hard. But Mir's unexpected word is announced.

'Tact-sama, there's another tree over there!

Where? That one... can be appraised.

Maple: rarity 6 Material Item Quality C-
It is a hard, dense and impact-resistant wood. It is also known for its sweet sap and its edible qualities.

"Mir...am I imagining things?　It's the same rarity and quality as a pine tree, okay?

Um... but good luck with that!

K...you've found a great one. But it's one I can't pass up either... maple is maple in English. And the famous maple syrup is the one whose sap is described as sweet.

Then we'll have to do it.

'The barrels are still there, aren't they?'

'There is, but it shouldn't have much effect on maple sap, should it?　Wood is good for making musical instruments, though, so I suppose you could make a lyre out of Rian.

'What?　Really?　Sis Setia!

It's true.

It's funny stuff. Because I know maple syrup and I don't know that it's a good source of harp material. And when I told them about maple syrup, their eyes all changed color.

Girls have a sweet tooth...but the reality is that I'm the only one who can cut it down. So, let's gather our last bit of energy.

hour and a half later...

The felling is complete. I sit down, breathing heavily. I can't lift my arms anymore...

Mr. Tact... are you okay?

'I don't think we can... we've got a lot of material to work with, so let's go back to Lieprich for now.

Thank you for your help.

So, once we get back to Lieprich, we'll store the barrels we've collected. Here's the maple syrup appraisal.

Maple Syrup: rarity 6 Cooking Quality C
The sweet sap from maple trees. It is mainly used in cooking desserts.

Now you won't be sad if you go back to death. Let's go attack the forest at night.

Name Takuto, Summoner of Affection Lv2.

Vitality 66
Magic power 123
Strength 56
Defensive Strength 40
Agility 55
Dexterity value 96

skill

Fighting Lv 9, kicking Lv 16, staff Lv 22, one-handed sword Lv 20, spear Lv 10, sword Lv 1　
Throwing Lv 7 High Speed Chanting Lv 24 Summoning Magic Lv 28 Summoning Magic Lv 8 Sealing Magic Lv 16 Rider Lv 16　
Alchemy Lv 17 Mining Lv 20 Logging Lv 17 -> Lv 24 Dismantling Lv 34 Appraisal Lv 20 Identification Lv 30　
Wind magic Lv23 Fire magic Lv28 Earth magic Lv22 Water magic Lv29 Dark magic Lv22　
Sacred Magic Lv 8 Lightning Magic Lv 22 Explosion Magic Lv 24 Wood Magic Lv 23 Ice Magic Lv 22　
Spacetime Magic Lv 37 Underwater Action Lv 2 Reading Lv 8 Cooking Lv 33 Feeding Lv 7 Fishing Lv 16　
Synchronization Lv 10, Linkage Lv 3

Name: Setia High Elf Lv 7

Vitality 52
Magic power 128
Strength 45.
Defensive Strength 36
Agility 37
Dexterity value 128

skill

Staff Lv 14 magic bow Lv 11 falconry Lv 5 falconry Lv 4 shooting Lv 12 woodworking Lv 12 harvesting Lv 18 -> Lv 22　
Medication Lv 12, Engraving Lv 3, Gemology Lv 1, Lapidary Lv 1, Wind Magic Lv 7.　
Fire Magic Lv 16 Water Magic Lv 20 Earth Magic Lv 13 Earth Magic Lv 1 Dark Magic Lv 3 Sacred Magic Lv 3　
Lightning magic Lv 1 Explosion magic Lv 1 Wood magic Lv 16 Ice magic Lv 3 Tree magic Lv 9　
High Elf Knowledge Lv13 -> Lv15 Spirit Summoning Lv6 Cooking Lv8

Name Meal Dryad Lv2

Vitality 62
Magical power 62
Strength 32
Defensive Strength 32
Agility 67
Dexterity value 62

skill

Earth Lurking Lv 11 Vine Lv 10 Vine Lv 5 Wind Magic Lv 3 Earth Magic Lv 6　
Wood Magic Lv 7 Water Magic Lv 1 Photosynthesis Lv 1 Photosynthesis Lv 1 Transfer Lv 1 Flower Nectar Lv 3　
Pollen Lv 4 Collecting Lv 10 -> Lv 17 Planting Lv 4 Parasitic trees Lv 8 Setting traps Lv 7　
Plant Summons Lv 1