Chapter 52
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Since we decided to go gather the magical herb Mandogora, we first went to the armor shop in town.
“Put this on, and this, and this too.”
Raiga briskly grabbed items from the shelves one after another and tossed them to me…
Stefan stopped him with a “Wait.”
“Chainmail, shoulder guards, knee guards, chest plate, helmet… isn’t that too much?”
“…If some weird monster shows up on the way and you get hurt, that’d be a problem.”
Stefan and Raiga looked at each other.
“That’s true. And… excuse me, could we also get some gloves? Ah, the sturdiest ones you have.”
It’s heavy…
Over the green robe I made for work—designed to be easy to move in—I put on everything I was handed, just like that, and staggered.
“If you’ve got all that on, you’ll be perfectly set.”
Raiga nodded in satisfaction.
“With that much heavy gear, are you taking this girl dragon hunting or something?”
The armor shop owner looked at me with slight exasperation.
This really is a bit too much equipment, isn’t it…?
“We’re gathering magical herbs.”
When I said that beside them as they were paying, the owner made a strange face.
“Sorry, it’s just… heavy… and I’m getting tired. Could we go a little slower…”
As we headed toward the mountain where the magical herb grows, I started falling behind the two of them. The equipment is heavy…
Can I even climb a mountain like this…?
Also, Stefan is wearing light leather armor, and Raiga is practically dressed the same as he is in town—just a shirt. Isn’t it strange that I’m the only one like this…?
“You’ve got no stamina. Want me to carry you?”
Raiga turned around with an exasperated look.
…What is this feeling of being baggage? I can clearly feel that they think I’m unreliable or that they’re worried about me.
I shook my head.
“I’m fine.”
…I’ll make sure the two of them understand that I can be useful too. Absolutely.
“Magical herbs grow naturally in open places with just the right amount of moisture and good sunlight… often on rocky areas near small streams.”
After we had entered the mountain for a while, Stefan explained as we walked.
“When it gets warmer, they mature and come out of the ground to walk around. They don’t attack, but if they’re startled, they scream loudly and run around. If you hear that scream, you’ll faint, so you have to be careful.”
“Here,” he said, handing earplugs to me and Raiga.
“If you wear those properly, you’ll be fine.”
“Got it.”
Raiga said that and stuffed them into his ears. Since he was still in human form even though we were working, I tilted my head.
“You’re not turning into a wolf today?”
“In that form, I can’t block my ears properly. And my hearing becomes more sensitive.”
I also took the earplugs I’d been given and pushed them tightly into my ears.
The sound was cut off, and though Raiga kept talking, I could only see his mouth moving.
“‘That’s why beastmen aren’t suited for this job.’”
That’s why beastmen aren’t suited for this job… right.
At that moment, Stefan turned around, put a finger to his lips with a “Shh,” and pointed into the distance.
When I strained my eyes, on a sunny rocky spot beside a small stream, there were many large carrot-like things with tips split into two like legs, sitting in a circle and basking in the dappled sunlight as if sunbathing.
