Defeating Etemone, accomplished.

　Apparently I had completed that quest before I became an adventurer.
　I didn't take the body back with me, but when I went to check with the village chief, we confirmed that it was indeed a wanted monster.

　Gacita, who had been commissioned to undertake a quest to defeat the monster, was informed that the quest had been cancelled.
　The village chief, who also serves as guild master, reprimanded her directly.

　It seems that Gacita had received the quest half a month ago, but had been unable to find a target to take down.

''You were so lazy, you could have attacked my daughter!　You're a useless ragbag at a crucial moment, even though you're a daily braggart!

　The village chief's anger is genuine, since it was his own daughter who suffered the disaster.
　Gashita is also disgraced.

''............!

　For some reason, I accompanied him to Gashita's place, but the vindictive look he directed at me was scary.

''......................Chief, give me the quest.
What?
'A quest to take down a monster much more powerful than Etemone!　I'm not gonna let that old rookie beat me to it.　I will hunt stronger monsters!

　The rivalry was crunchy.
　The village chief had no choice but to respond to his request.

Then, here it is. I'm sure you're not going to be able to find a way to make the most out of your time here.
But it's more powerful than Etemone!　I'll show you!　I'm going to beat this guy and prove that I'm better than him!

　More importantly, is it in the best interest of the village?
　If it's a monster that's not dangerous to the village, forcing yourself to hunt it isn't just a futile kill.

The village chief, please give me a quest. As I recall, you have a collection of herb collectors, right?
'Oh?　Oh...!　Dariel-kun is so grateful that you're thinking of the village...!

　Quest undertaken.

"Collect Six Mechaita Plants".

　What's this sinister-looking name?

"You're an amateur, you can just weed your way through it!　Watch this!　I'll make it big in a minute.
What's the big deal in any world?
'Shut up!　Don't let the E class talk so big to the D class!

　Should I tell you?
　The fact that I was promptly upgraded from E class to D class for my achievement in defeating Etemone.

　Anyway, I went into the forest to collect medicinal herbs and Gacita-kun went into the forest to exterminate monsters.

◆

Well.....

　Me in the woods.
　Although the smell of green was fresh, I was puzzled.

'Let's work together!

　I have a companion.

　That's Malika.

　She is the daughter of the chief and she is the one who led me to the village.
　Why is she here?　So..........

'Dariel-san has only been in the village for a short time!　In the beginning, you need someone you know to show you around and learn the geography of the woods!　It's true!''

　He pushed me away.
　It is true that you can't lick a forest or a mountain, but if you do, you might get lost.

　That's why I asked a local girl, Marika, to accompany me.

"What's wrong with me...?

　It's dangerous in the forest, so why would you ask an adventurer to accompany you?
　And yet you're taking an ordinary villager, Malika, with you.

''Don't worry. It's not as if the villagers don't go into the forest at all.
Is that so?
Otherwise we wouldn't be able to pick up firewood........ What I ask adventurers to do is to go back and forth to the backcountry that takes a long time to get to and from, or where there are reports of monster sightings and it's dangerous, and also when it's a hassle!
"It's too much trouble...?

　I don't know how I feel about it.

'When my father was able to move, he used to take me into the forest too. That's why I know the terrain of the forest so well.

　Don't make it sound like your father is stuck in the middle of something...?
　Am I right?
　The village chief was busily rubbing his waist with every movement he made.

I really wanted to become an adventurer too. The village is lacking in adventurers, and I wanted to help in any way I could.
Is that why you were in the woods that time...?
'An old lady in my neighborhood has a cold.... She said she'd have to go by herself because this idiot in Gacita wouldn't even get herbs for her...

　So I ran into some unlucky monsters and then I came along for the ride.

'I have to repay you, Dariel!　So I'll seriously show you the way!

　You don't have to be so tense.
　It's a guide, so you need to keep your cool rather than your morale up.

''Then, Dariel-san, let's hold hands!
Why?
'If you get lost in the woods, it's over!　If you don't want to get separated, isn't holding hands a sure thing!
'Maybe so, but is there any other way...?'

　I'm also a good old man of thirty-two years old.
　I've completely exhausted my youthfulness in my menial job in the Demon King's Army.......

　I'm not going to be able to get a hold of a young woman at my age.......?

''There's another way........?　Would you like to hug each other then?
What's the big step?

　I've been following this girl since I met her, and she's gotten pretty aggressive, hasn't she?
　As expected, he was quiet in front of his parents, but as soon as they were alone with him, this was it.

'I owe you a debt of gratitude, Dariel-san,'

　Is that really all there is to it?
　From her words and actions, I sense more than just the will to repay the favor.
　I don't know what kind of will, either, but....

''Come on, let's hurry up and pick some herbs and go home!　Everyone in the village is waiting for you!
Yeah, I guess so.
Here's a list of herbs to collect.
There's a lot of names for something, but isn't there one type that was requested?
'That's why the requests are piling up. It's because Gacita's an idiot who doesn't take collection quests. Since we came all the way to the depths of the forest with Dariel-san, it's more efficient to pick as many as possible at this point and return home!

　Maybe so, but...!

　The more we talk, the more I think, Malika, you're not used to working as an adventurer?
　Maybe it's only natural if you think of her as the guild master's daughter.

　She's been in and out of the forest since she was a child, and she goes off on her own because the current adventurers can't be relied upon.

　She's not an official adventurer, but she.
　Isn't she much more of an adventurer than an ordinary adventurer, etc.?

Mr. Dariel, that's not mechaita grass.
'What?　Really?
'It's a similar but different species. You can tell them apart by the number of stripes on the underside of the leaves.
Oh, I see...?
Mr. Dariel, the only medicinal part of this plant is the leaves, so you'll just have to cut the leaves off. One leaf out of four from each plant. Then it will be back to normal rather quickly.
Oh, I see...!
'There are a lot of yagen larvae underneath fallen trees, so we'll have to turn them over to find them. This one is dried and powdered, and it helps to cool the heat!
A bug in your medicine?
Yes, but...?　Huh?　Dariel, look at this!　Deer tracks!　Let's go after them and finish them off!　And for tonight's food!

　I knew it!
　She's a genius!

　That's the daughter of a guild master and village chief, rugged!
　Didn't you manage to get through that ape attack all by yourself?

That wasn't true!

　'I'm only a woman,' said Marika, shyly.

I'm a woman after all, so I'm not very strong when it comes to fighting. I did dream of becoming an adventurer, but my father wouldn't let me because he was worried about me.
I'm sure he's worried about his daughter.
'So it's very helpful to have Dariel here. He helped me when I first met him. Mr. Dariel is my savior.
Is that too much to ask...?

　I was puzzled by her exaggeration, but her eyes were serious.

''I have a favor to ask of you, Dariel-san...''
What?
Can you call me by my nickname?　I don't like the idea of calling me "number" because it makes me feel like a stranger.

　You don't feel like a stranger to me, we just met and we're not strangers...?
　It was impossible to say.
　If I said it, I'd be recognized as an 'enemy of women' on the spot by the whole world...?

Well, Marika.
'Yes!　Mr. Dariel!
No, since I'm the one who called him that, shouldn't you be without a first name?
'No, my mother said that women are supposed to build up men.

　What is it?
　It's a strange feeling, like she's holding me by the neck while she lifts me up.

　Am I being invaded by her now?
　I felt like that.

◆.

'Oh, look, Dariel, look. There's a deer.
He's really here?
And he's fighting a monster?　Is the deer winning?
Strong deer!
Let's go kill them both.

　The monster I ended up killing with the deer was an anthracic, the target of a quest that Gacita had undertaken.
　I had once again killed his prey.