The next day, Haruka and I headed for the forest early in the morning.
　We made sure to kill the task boars that appeared along the way and collect them.

　Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've been into the Eastern Forest, and it's also been a while since I've hunted a Task Boar.

　I could say that there was no need to hunt them, but I remembered that the task boars I had eaten last year at this time were quite tasty, probably because they were fed with dindle berries.

　The fact that I could easily kill it with a single thrust of my spear alone made me feel a little happy that I was growing up.

"This time last year, you were saying 'next year I'll have a more profitable job,' but you're still doing the same job, aren't you?

Our goals are very different.

　That time it was purely for the money .
　This time, it's almost entirely for a hobby, or for our food supply.

We used to say we could kill goblins, but now we're small fry.
You've gotten mentally tougher.

　"You've become mentally tougher." "I used to be bad at gore, but I can get used to it if I have to.

　While we were chatting, we walked through the forest with much more ease than a year ago, and arrived at the first dindle tree.

No one seems to have come to pick them.
"Oh, there's a lot of them.

　I looked up and saw a lot of fruits growing near the top.

　There were also some lying on the ground around us, but not many, probably because they were eaten by task boars.

Let's climb up, then. Will we be able to do it without a rope this time?
"We can just attach a lifeline after we get up there.

　It's true that we can't jump up to the lowest branch, but now that we've strengthened our bodies, climbing a tree is much easier.

　Once we reached the top, we tied the lifeline and started to collect the dindle.

　This time, we didn't care how much we had, we just threw it into the magic bag, so we started from the top.

　In less than an hour, we had collected all the berries that were ready to eat.

It's going better than I thought. At this rate, we should be able to get at least three plants in one day.

"Yes. The problem is, if we do that, we won't have any trees to go around on the third day. ......

"Nao, why don't you poke your head over the top and look around?　Nao, why don't you poke your head out from the top and look around, the dindle tree is clearly out of place.

　We were picking the fruit near the top, but the visibility wasn't great because of the foliage around it.



　So I can understand Haruka's point about climbing to the top and then putting your head further up. .......

The trunk is pretty thin, huh?
I'll be back.
...... Yes.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　It's quite flexible, so it's unlikely that I'll just snap out of it, but height is height.

　Naturally, the wind was also blowing strongly, and the tip of the trunk swayed meter by meter.

　If it were not for the fact that dingdol is a special fruit tree that grows at the top of trees, I would have cut off the tip of the tree to get a better view.

If I wasn't an elf, I'd be pissed, I swear!

"Don't worry. I'll still love you if you mess up!　There's purification!

Thanks for that.

　I was both happy and not happy.
　But I'm really scared I'm going to choke.

　It's like climbing a pliable pole on the edge of a high-rise apartment building, man!

　I wish I had flight magic!

　But even so, it seems that the race characteristics of the elves are not flawless, and they successfully emerge from the tree canopy without slipping.

"Wow. ......

　I was speechless.

　It's a completely different panorama from the one you see through the leaves when you're picking berries, which spreads out to 360 degrees.

　In terms of height alone, I have been to a higher observatory than this one when I was in Japan, but this one is many times higher in terms of excitement.

　The fact that it's still blowing and the scaffolding is shaking might be a factor, though.

"Hey, Nao, what's up? Did you find it?
Oh, yeah. Yes.

　The forest spreads out in front of me.

　I can see several trees growing out of it, not just one head, but several trees that seem to be poking through.

　I'm pretty sure that's a dindle tree, but the question is: .......

How do I write down the location?



　I'm not sure my memory is good enough to remember where it is, and I don't have the guts - or the recklessness - to take notes off my hands in this booming, shaking situation.

Why don't you just tie yourself to the trunk with a rope?
...... No, that's scary enough.

　But there is no other way.
　I wrapped the rope around my body a little too tightly and secured it firmly.
　Take notes as best you can.

"This direction is north, and based on my current location, the direction is .......

　It's impossible to write down the location completely, so I use my current location as a base point and write down the direction and approximate distance of each tree.

　Dindle trees are huge, so if you know some direction and have a good view, you can reach them.

...... That's about it.

　I put the note firmly in my pocket, untied the rope and went to Haruka.
　When you get down to a place where the shaking is minimal, you let out a sigh of relief.

"Mission accomplished. Thank you.

"Ah. That was quite a thrill, huh?　It was a nice view, but would you like to go check out ...... Haruka?

　I said that jokingly, but Haruka pondered a bit.
　I'm not sure what to say.　It's not a lie that the view was nice, but it was pretty scary.

...... Well, I'll just have a look.
Oh, oh. Be careful.

　Seriously?
　I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that.
　It's not like the shaking has stopped.
　And after a while, she came down again.

It's a great view, that's for sure. I'd like to show it to Natsuki and the others, but would it be too difficult to climb up here?

"Maybe. --I mean, weren't you scared?　Wasn't it scary?



That's after Nao. If you knew you couldn't break him, would you have gone that far?　Yeah, it was a little thrilling.

　No, it's scary even when it's safe.
　Even the scream machine is scary even when it's safe.

...... Are you okay with bungee jumping?
"I've never done it, so I can't say.

　I've never done it, so I can't say for sure." Haruka replied with a nod of her head, but I'm sure she's the type who can handle it.
　By the way, I'm not good at it.

　I can manage a roller coaster at a small amusement park, but I definitely don't want to go on a free fall.

　Of course, bungee jumping goes without saying.

Now that we know where we're going, let's move on. We've got a year's supply of Dildos to get through.

"Right. It's going to take some time to find them, so let's hurry.

　　　　We'll have to hurry.

　We ended up collecting fruit from three trees on the first day, and from three trees on the second day as well. At that point, we had already secured enough dindol to last us for a year.

　Specifically, each of us could eat about one a day.

　But if you're thinking of sharing them, giving them as gifts, or using them to make inspiration sauce, you can never have too many.

　I left my house at the same time as the day before yesterday, and headed for Aella's diner, where she was already standing in front of the store waiting for me.

Good morning, Aella.

Good morning, Nao. Good morning, Haruka.

Where's Luce today?

She's not working today. Human Luce isn't very good at climbing trees, and he can hardly fight in the first place.

Oh, I know. Shall we go then?

Yes!



　With Aella's positive response, we headed out of the town, chatting.

　I didn't want to take Aella too far into the forest, so I left three dindle trees in a relatively close area unharvested.

You guys have been out for quite a while this time, where have you been?　Oh, if you don't mind me asking...

It's not a problem to know where you've been.　I went to Crevilly for an escort.

Oh, Crevilly?

What?　Aella, do you know Crevilly?

Yes. It was the first town we considered opening a store in. There are a lot of people, and you can get all kinds of food there. However, the competition was so fierce that I thought it would not be suitable for me because I wanted to take it easy, so I decided not to do it.

You're right, it was prosperous. The food was of a high standard.

You know... I thought it would help me improve myself. ....... Also, there was the problem of funding. It was a little difficult to open a restaurant there.

So it's going to cost a lot of money?

Yes. Yes, it is. So I decided to stay in this town where it's cheaper. ......

　Perhaps remembering the deadlocked situation of a year ago, Aera-san slurred her words and smiled wryly.

I've been through a lot, but now I'm glad I came here. I'm glad I came here. I got to know Nao and the others.

We're glad we got to know you too, Aella.　We have a good diet thanks to you, Aella.

No, no, no, no. Haruka and the others are professional enough in their cooking skills. I've learned a lot of new dishes and snacks from them, and I'm learning more from them than from you!

For us, the inspirational sauce is enough to pay for itself.



"Well, it's something that every family has, isn't it? Oh, but didn't Nao-san and her family make it?

　Oops, we're getting into a sensitive topic.
　No, well, I don't mind telling the truth to Aella-san.

　We know that the one who brought us here is not an evil god or anything like that, but an Adversary who is worshipped in this world, so if we choose to be a normal race, we won't be persecuted.

　But just then, the Dindol tree we were looking for came into view.

"Oh, that's the tree, isn't it?
"Yes, it is. Aela, do you have a container?
I've got a bag!

　What Aera-san showed me was a bag that was a modified version of a backpack.
　It's better than a simple bag, but it doesn't seem to hold much.

You can't get much with that. We'll lend you our magic bag, and you can use this.

"Are you sure?　That's a luxury item.

I'm sure you've noticed that we use it to deliver our products, but we have a lot of it. ...... I can't give it to you, though.

Of course. It's a pain in the ass to deal with magic bags. We elves would be happy if you were a little more relaxed about it. ......

　When I asked Aella, who seemed to know a bit about the situation, she said that there are some elves who can make magic bags.

　Of course, it's a rare thing, but it's a different level from the human race, where not many people can even use magic.

　One of the most famous people in this country is the Countess Slyvya, an elven noble family I met the other day.

　There is a relatively large supply of magic bags from there, but due to conflicts with other nobles, the supply can't be too unlimited, so it's not exactly gobbling up the money.

　As for me, I think that if we can supply a large amount of magic bags and start a distribution revolution, the country will grow, but it won't be easy considering the fact that the magic bags can easily flow to criminal organizations and enemy countries.

　In particular, the Kingdom of Rhenium has an advantage in terms of the number of elves against the hypothetical enemy, the Empire of Upiclisar, so a restricted distribution is more convenient.

　On the other hand, if they were to be too strict, it would lead to an exodus of magicians to other countries, so they are probably balancing the situation at the current level.

　However, if there is such a situation, we might have been in trouble in other countries.
　When you think about it, Advaustris is very different.
　--Oh, I haven't been to the temple since I came back.


　I have to go to the shrine once before I go back to pinning.