46. The Clover Called by Luck

After leaving Cygnil, we set our sights on the Royal Capital, Garond. As the most prosperous city in the Kingdom of Lievril, it seemed like the perfect place to gather information. Probably.

While inter-city carriages ran regularly from Cygnil, we chose to travel on foot. There was no guarantee that Garond held the clues we needed, and we didn't want to miss the chance of finding something unexpected in the smaller villages along the way. We decided to take our time and enjoy a leisurely journey.

"Oh my, what are you children doing all alone in a village like this?" an old woman asked, calling out to us as we passed through her town.

A pair of twelve-year-olds and Shiroru—who looked like nothing more than a pet—certainly didn't fit the image of hardened adventurers. Even if we were wearing the right gear, we didn't exactly look the part.

"Believe it or not, we’re actually adventurers. We’re on our way to the Royal Capital," I explained.

"Oh, is that so? It’s a long way to the capital. Will you be all right?"

"We'll be fine! We're taking it slow," Halfa replied with a beaming smile.

The old woman’s face softened, her expression turning grandmotherly. "I see, I see," she nodded, treating us exactly like her own grandchildren. Well, I didn't mind.

"Ma'am, have you ever seen any Wingfolk around here?" I asked.

"Aside from the little lady there? Sadly, no. I’ve hardly ever left this village, but I can tell you for certain that no Wingfolk have ever come through here."

"I see..."

It was as I expected. I didn't think information would be that easy to come by, but it was important to keep asking around anyway.

After chatting a bit longer, we said our goodbyes. Since we were staying the night, we needed to find an inn. In a village of this size, there was only one option, so there wasn't much of a choice to make. Even though the highway was nearby, the village itself was tucked away, and the inter-city carriages didn't stop here. Only travelers on foot ever really used the place.

The inn stood right near the village entrance. The moment we stepped inside, a surly man directed a sharp, suspicious glare our way.

"Staying the night? Is one room enough?"

"One room is fine!" Halfa answered before I could even open my mouth.

Lately, we’d been sharing a room whenever we stayed at an inn. Back at the Wildcat Inn, we’d had our own spaces, but Halfa had been a little lonely since we parted ways with Rei and the others. We were still just kids, so it wasn't a problem—and we had Shiroru with us, anyway.

The inn provided a bed but no meals. That wasn't an issue, though, since I had plenty of pre-cooked food stored away in my Storage Ring.

"Well, let's get some rest. Tomorrow, do you want to check out that clover field?" I asked.

<I heard it's covered in clovers!> Shiroru chirped.

"And they say if you find a Golden Four-Leaf Clover, you'll find happiness too!" Halfa added.

According to the old woman, a vast clover field was the local attraction. It wasn't a managed farm, but rather a place where clovers grew wild in a massive carpet.

The legend went that a Golden Four-Leaf Clover occasionally appeared among the green ones, bringing luck to whoever found it. It sounded a lot like the superstitions from my previous life.

I had researched medicinal herbs back in Cygnil, and I knew that Golden Four-Leaf Clovers were actually used as rare ingredients. Because they were so hard to find, they fetched a high price. In a purely financial sense, finding one definitely would make a person happy—though I doubted that was the "happiness" the legend referred to.

The next day, we made our way to the field.

"It’s clovers as far as the eye can see..."

"It really is!" Halfa exclaimed.

It was more impressive than I’d imagined. It was strange for them to grow in such a dense cluster without anyone tending to them.

"Alright! Let’s have a race to see who finds a Golden Four-Leaf Clover first!"

<Oh, I'm not going to lose!>

"Ah... sure."

Halfa made her declaration, and the hunt began.

But here was the thing: based on my experience gathering medicinal herbs, I knew I was going to win by a landslide. Just to test it, I reached into a nearby patch and plucked a single stalk.

...Yep. It was a Golden Four-Leaf Clover.

My Luck Value was clearly doing its job; rare herbs practically jumped into my hands. After that, even if I didn't find one every single time, a few more tries always resulted in another golden find.

"What?! Tort, how did you find that many already?" Halfa cried out after I'd gathered about ten of them.

"Well, you know... it’s probably my Luck Value..."

"Oh, right! That’s not even fair! Okay, Shiroru, it’s just you and me now!"

<Muu! I might have lost to Tort, but I won't lose to you, Halfa!>

And just like that, I was disqualified from the competition.

I kept looking on my own, though. I didn't have much else to do, and since they were valuable, there was no reason not to collect them. I just had to be careful not to overharvest and leave none for others, but given how massive this field was, my small haul wouldn't make a dent.

We spent a while longer silently plucking clovers. In the match between Halfa and Shiroru, Shiroru came out on top. Now that I thought about it, I’d appraised him before and remembered his Luck Value being quite high. Poor Halfa never stood a chance.

I stopped once I reached a hundred stalks. I figured that was more than enough. These weren't so much clovers that "brought" luck as they were clovers "called" by my luck.

<Hey, Tort. You gathered a lot of those. What kind of food do they turn into?>

Shiroru approached me with a curious look after the match ended. Did he think everything I collected was for eating? To be fair, I had been stocking up on crab and meat lately.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but these aren't for eating. They’re ingredients for medicine."

<Oh... I see...>

Shiroru’s ears drooped, and he looked down dejectedly. I felt a pang of guilt for getting his hopes up. Sorry, buddy.