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nChapter 9

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nWhen I wake up in the morning, Allen and Elena were already up . They are clinging on both of my sides staring at my face fixedly .

nThis has become a habit since our first camping in the forest .

n「…… Morning」

n「「……Mor… ning…」」

n「!!」

nThey greeted me!! Allen and Elena spoke!

nWhat adorable voices!

nI who was greatly impressed hugged the two children reflectively .

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nAfter having my fill of embracing the two, I finished preparations and we went to the guild .

nIt’s full of people, unlike yesterday . I go towards the low-rank Request Board while Allen and Elena are tightly sticking to me in order to not get separated .

nA low-rank male and female adventurers around my age are gazing at the board .

nA great number of Requests are closely packed together on the board .

nThere are three main types of Requests .

nGathering Request――A gathering job of a specific herbs or monster material .

nSubjugation Request――A job to defeat a designated monster . After defeating it, a part of its body is necessary as a subjugation proof .

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nThere are little to nothing Escort Requests for low-rankers . So I will be choosing between gathering and subjugation .

nN~ what should I pick…… Would taking a gathering herbs request at first be better? With that, Allen and Elena can go with me…

nThinking that, I pick one of the Requests and stand in the queue at the counter .

n「The next person」

n「Thank you」

nMy turn finally came .

nThe receptionist behind the counter is the same that took care of us yesterday, Luna-san .

n「Ara, Takumi-san . Good morning . A Request?」

n「Good morning . This is the Request, please」

n「Excuse me…… A gathering of Lilie Grass, I see . Your Guild Card, please」

nI hand the Request I picked to Luna-san after light greetings .

nLuna-san confirmed the contents of the Request, received my Guild Card and quickly operated the crystal .

n「10 Lilie Grasses is considered a batch so please be careful . The time limit is until three days later」

nLuna-san explains the important points of the Request .

n「Thank you very much」

nWhile saying my thanks, I received back my Guild Card and we leave the Guild .

nWe go towards the south gate at once .

nThere is a small forest in the south of Shirin . There are no monsters aside from E, F Rank slimes, and wolves . It’s a relatively safe area so it’s just the right place for newcomers and unskilled adventurers .

n「Allen, Elena . This is the Lilie Grass」

nAfter getting to the forest, I immediately find the Lilie Grass and show it to children . It has a dark green stalk with several jagged maple-like leaves .

nThe Lilie roots aren’t necessary so I cut the stalk and pick it up without the roots .

n「If you find it, gather it like this . Understood?」

nAfter Allen and Elena nod, they start searching the area for Lilie Grass at once .

nThey found it immediately . They timidly hold it in their tiny hands and trot over to me .

nThey uneasily look at me while holding out the Lilie Grass to me .

n「It’s all right, this is the one . You did great~」

nI pat the two children’s heads and receive the Lilie Grass while praising them .

nHappy for being praised, kya, kya they make a merry and run off looking for another Lilie Grass .

nI’m glad . It seems that their emotions and voices are returning little by little .

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nI feel relieved that they are growing in the right direction .

nNow then, I should also start looking around~

nI found the plant right after I began the search .

nOh, Cren Grass and Maryoku Grass are also there . There was a request for that too if I’m not mistaken . Let’s gather that too . Even if the Request won’t be there anymore, I can just store it in the《Infinite Storage》for the time being .

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nAlong the way, Allen and Elena learned the characteristics of the various plants I was picking and also started looking for them .

nOur gathering in the forest continues until the noon and the prepared jute bag was full of gathered herbs .

nWe gathered a sufficient amount .

n「Allen, Elena . Let’s stop for today」

nWhen I call the two, they trot over to me with hands full of herbs .

n「You both gathered so much~ Amazing~」

nWhen I praise them after receiving the plants, the two children make joyful expressions .

nSo cute~ The two laughed a lot today .

n「Yosh, let’s return to town after eating a meal」

nWe left the forest, sat in the middle of a meadow with a great scenery, and returned to the town after eating the food I bought at the stall in the town .

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nWhen we return to the Guild, I go straight to the Request Board and look for Requests with other herbs .

nUmm… Cren Grass, Maryoku Grass, oh, Fenze Grass is also there .

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n「Welcome back」

nThe one who greeted me at the counter was Luna-san again .

n「We have returned . These Requests in addition to the Request we have received this morning」

n「I will confirm . Put the materials in this basket please」

nAfter exchanging greetings, I put the Guild Card together with the new Requests on the counter . Luna-san received them and took out a basket .

nI place the herbs into that basket . Because all kinds of herbs were in the 10 Requests I picked, I line them up while counting .

n「… Y, you have quite a lot . It’s quite difficult to gather this much in half a day…」

n「It’s because the children did their best」

nThe herbs turned into a heap because the basket is unexpectedly small .

nLuna-san was a slightly surprised at the amount of herbs I took out, but she promptly started checking the herbs .

n「This is this time’s reward」

nOnce the confirmation of the herbs is done, the reward money is presented . I confirm the amount of money at the counter and put them into a bag .

nAnd when I think of returning――

n「Why are brats in here!」

nA large, bald adventurer comes over while shouting .

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