After we left the guild, we went out the east gate and headed for the forest.

What do you think of the two requests I found that I'm interested in?

The Great Salamander ...... is already a great prickly fish, isn't it?　I'm sure you'll be happy with the results.　I'm interested in going out and catching it, but it doesn't seem to be that efficient in terms of earning money.

That's true. The distance is a drawback.

　According to Diora's tone, it would take about a day to get there each way.
　It took half a day to get to Sahlstat, so it was only natural that we would have to go further upstream.

　Besides, if the object was not bulky, it would not be possible to catch a large number of prickly-pear fish.
　If that is the case, it may be more profitable to catch cheap ones in the vicinity.

What about magic mushrooms then?

It's a dangerous mushroom, not only in name but also in effect. No, it's something I use in my pharmacy.

Oh, by the way, you said it was used for pain relief. --I don't know.　What's the difference between that and [pharmacy]?

　What's the difference between that and [Pharmacy]?" I twist my head at Toya's words.
　That's true. I'm sure you're right. If you can make potions with Alchemy, then you don't need Pharmacy, right?

Well, ...... Haruka, what do you think?
"Alchemy can also make potions. The difference is that [Pharmacy] can only make potions.
"Then what's the point of Potions?

No, it doesn't. There are some medicines that can only be made with Alchemy, but there are far more that can only be made with Pharmacy. Pharmacy is also suitable for mass production. The medicines made with alchemy use magic power.

In other words, you understand that there are different types of medicines that are good at one thing and bad at another, right?
Yes. Something like that.
So we can use both without worry. I'm afraid of getting sick or injured.
Natsuki's [Pharmacy Lv.3] is one thing, but I still need to practice.

　Still, it's better than nothing.
　I'd rather take the medicine you two made than see a doctor I don't understand.

"So, one of you can use the herbs we collect, right?　Wouldn't it be profitable to sell it as medicine?
"No, you can't.

　No, you can't," Toya said, but I quickly denied it.

"Why not?
Toya, if you saw Viagra on the street, would you buy it?
I wouldn't buy ....... Oh, right, trust. I mean, I don't need it, Viagra!

　It's a good thing that you've got a good idea of what you're looking for.

　I can't believe my ears when I hear that it's common practice to buy drugs from people who come to you unexpectedly without checking your identity and then sell them to pharmacies.

　I wonder if the medicine wholesalers in Japan are safe, if such an abnormal business practice is going on?
　As long as they can counterfeit the packages, they can do whatever they want, even terrorism.

　The counterfeit medicines manufactured in some countries, which look indistinguishable from the original, have become a problem all over the world, and I wonder how much they are not aware of the danger.

　It's not like a game where you can determine the ingredients and effects of a product with a simple appraisal.

　In this world, there is not even a package for it. The average person doesn't even know if it's a potion or just water. It's hard to believe that someone would buy something from someone they don't know well.

You can sell them by registering with a guild and setting up a store, but it's not very beneficial. It's expensive.
...... Is it the same for alchemists?
In a way, yes. It's not a crime to sell something, whether it sells or not.
If that's the case, wouldn't a magic bag sell?

　That said, they are in short supply and can be sold at any price, right?
　I can't use Extended Space yet, but if I can sell it, can I make money?

I'm sure it'll sell, but you'll get in trouble. To Nao. And Yuki, too.

Me?
And you?

I told you space-time magic was rare. I told you space-time magic is rare. You know how much trouble it's gonna be if Nao can't use it without any backing.

Oh, the nobility?

That's what I meant. In space-time magic, there is such a thing as teleportation when the level goes up, right?　The powers that be won't leave it alone.

That makes sense. What a pain in the ass.

It's either hide it thoroughly or get a backer, but ...... will have to hide it. I don't think it's that easy to find a good backer.

That's right.

　I don't think there are people who will back us up without giving us any benefits.
　If we do, our actions will be constrained.


　So it's only natural that you would choose to hide it as much as possible.

"Hey, hey, Haruka. I don't understand why I'm an accessory!　I'm not sure what to do.　I'm not sure what to do.　I'm not sure what to do.

"Shut up!

　Haruka's chop exploded on Yuki's head as she started to say something stupid.
　I'm not sure if I bit my tongue or not, but I'm holding my mouth in a gasp.

We'll be working together, and since Nao's level is higher than yours, we'll have the same countermeasures. Unless you want to be independent?

"No!　I'll follow you for the rest of my life!
No! I'll follow you for the rest of my life! Well, don't use it in a conspicuous way, both of you.
Okay.

　I don't want any trouble.

So, are we going to find the magic mushrooms after all?

The problem is the possibility of vipe-bears. The problem is the possibility of vipu bears. What do you think?

I'd rather fight ....... It was a close call last time, but there may be more enemies than that in the future. It would be a good training ground.

I guess I'll sit this one out.　I don't know how strong they are.
I've never met one, but I think I should try. You always need to play it safe, but you also need to take on higher-ranked opponents in order to grow.

　Natsuki was even more belligerent than I thought!
　I'm sure you're not the only one.

I'm sure you'll be fine. Let's do it then. Toya, please?　He's the hardest.
Oh. We've got chainmail and shields this time. We're a lot safer than last time.

　I'm pretty sure I tried that time with cheap leather armor and iron bars. ...... Yeah, Toya, you've got balls. Against a bear of that size.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.

　We nodded our heads in agreement with Halka's policy and entered the forest.

　　　　I'm sure you'll understand.

　After entering the forest, we divided into two groups of three, and took turns gathering herbs and guarding the area.

　In terms of strength, Toya, Haruka, and the rest. All of us can use [Help] or [Appraise], so we don't have to collect the wrong herbs. Thanks to the shovel, we can now collect medicinal herbs that require roots.

　It was Toya who found it after an hour or so of moving around like this.

Oh, there's the magic mushroom.

　At Toya's words, I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a fallen tree about 20 centimeters in diameter with several white mushrooms growing out of it.
　They looked like shiitake mushrooms with their shafts slightly lengthened and thickened.

So this is Weipu Bear's favorite food.
It doesn't look very tasty, does it?

"No, no, Yuki, mushrooms don't generally look very tasty, do they?　It's just that you know they taste good when you eat them.

...... Maybe so?

　The reason why round and thick shiitake mushrooms look so good is because you know they taste good when you grill them with a little bit of soy sauce.
　If you look at it objectively, it doesn't look good at all in terms of color, unlike fruits.

　But in the case of mushrooms, on the contrary, they look bad and you lose your appetite. It's strange.
　This is probably because the mushrooms we usually eat are so plain.

But pure white looks like mushrooms, doesn't it?
Mushrooms...... magic mushrooms are looking worse and worse.

　Tohya chuckles at Natsuki's words.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.　Most of them are different in shape from the mushrooms we imagine.

"Oh, really?
Yeah. I think there's a kind of warai mushroom.

If it has an analgesic effect, does that mean that the alkaloids contained in it are more similar to Datura than to magic mushrooms?

Hanaoka Seishu, right?
Yes.

　Wasn't he the one who created anesthetics?
　I remember reading about it in a comic book.

I remember reading about him in a comic book. Toya, what does it say in the appraisal?

"Well, it says something about anesthetic ingredients and that umbrellas less than 3 centimeters in size are worthless, while umbrellas over 10 centimeters are extremely valuable.

Three centimeters ...... is not much to collect. You can't get more than three centimeters.



　The number of mushrooms growing on the trees we found was sparse, less than that of shiitake mushrooms grown on logs.
　About half of them were less than three centimeters long, so we could probably collect no more than ten.

How much do you get for this size?
"You never asked me that. Well, I'm sure they'll pay a fair price, so let's do our best to collect them.
Right.

　If you're dealing with a merchant, you have to worry about being cheated, but if you're dealing with a guild, you can feel safe. The price is a little cheaper, but it's not so bad if you consider the time it takes to find someone to sell to.

The largest one is about ......8 centimeters. You could leave it there until it gets bigger. ......
No. There's vipe-bears out there. They'll eat them.
That's what I thought.

　Harvest everything over three inches long and bag it.
　In addition, I checked the trunk of the tree and found what looked like claw marks. I wondered if it had been felled by a vipu bear.

However, if the vipu bear is the reason why we can harvest magic mushrooms, I feel bad taking it down.

"Really?　I don't like that bear. He's not cute at all.
He's not cute?

Oh, no. Not at all. It's evil. Well, meat is cheap and the only thing they sell is their fur, so I don't want to kill them.

　Brown bears are still prettier.

Just kill them when you see them. We'll move on as soon as we're done. We don't have to wait for vipe-bears to show up.
Copy that.

　After checking one last time to make sure we hadn't left anything behind, we walked away somewhat quickly.