"Did you find anything?"
"Of course we did!"
"Oh, nice!"
Students were trickling back in waves, and a lively bustle began to fill the campsite.
Food inspections, I see. When I glanced toward the windows, I saw a crowd gathering near the carriages. The instructors had mentioned they would be tightening their checks, but with so many students returning at once, they seemed to be struggling to keep up.
It was a little earlier than my scheduled shift, but I decided to step in and do my part as an instructor.
"Good work, everyone! I’m here to help!"
"You're a lifesaver!"
"Help us verify the food, would you?"
"Understood! Next in line! I can handle your inspection over here!"
One of the students waiting in the long queue stepped toward me.
"Please, take a look."
"Certainly. Let's see... you’ve gathered quite a lot."
Using the bed of the carriage as a table, I examined the contents of the bag. This person seemed to have a decent grasp of botany; the haul consisted mostly of tree buds and edible wild greens. However...
"Most of this is fine, but you can't eat these mushrooms."
"What!?"
"They look like edible Akakasatake, but look at the underside of the cap and compare it to this real one."
"Oh... it’s different."
"Exactly. The ones with vibrant red gills all the way across are the edible Akakasatake. These dull, brownish ones are Benikasatake—they're toxic. You have to be careful; eating these causes stomach pain followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and dizziness."
"I had no idea..."
"I'll take these off your hands for disposal. But don't worry—the rest of your haul is perfectly safe and well-chosen. It’s a good result overall."
"Thank you very much!"
"You’re welcome. Next!"
"Yo."
The next person also seemed capable of identifying edible plants, but their harvesting technique left much to be desired. While the tree buds they’d gathered were edible, you’re supposed to only pick the terminal bud at the very tip. If you strip the secondary and tertiary buds from the sides, you might get more food now, but you won't be able to harvest from that tree next year.
Furthermore, the trees that produced these buds were fragile. If you didn't pick them carefully, the branches would snap. Looking in the bag, I saw several instances where whole branches had been torn off just to get the side buds.
As I continued to provide explanations and warnings about the issues I found, students began bringing in items other than plants.
"Excuse me, I need someone to show me how to butcher this."
"Butchering? He's the one in charge of that, over there."
I pointed out another male adventurer working behind the carriage and sent the student his way. My current role was strictly plants and mushrooms.
"Processing prey starts with a proper bleed-out. Got it?" I heard the other instructor say.
"Yes, sir!"
"But always watch your surroundings and find the safest spot possible. Some monsters are drawn to the scent of blood. It’s fine here at the camp, but in the field, you should work far away from your sleeping area."
"What if I have no choice?"
"Then you dig a hole and bury the blood and offal. It’s a hell of a lot better than nothing. If you have some extra coin and space in your pack, you should pick up a bottle of this. It’s Deodorizing Fluid from the Bamboo Forest."
Wait, that's one of my products!
"Deodorizing Fluid?" the student asked.
"You haven't heard of it? A shop called Bamboo Forest opened this year—they do cheap laundry. They sell this stuff there. The high-strength version can wipe out the stench of Goblin blood in a single spray. It’s a godsend. I hear some Beast-kin won't even go on a quest without it now. Though, I think you can only find it in Gimul or Lenaf for now."
I hadn't realized people were using it for camping. Even though I was the one selling it, I was the last to know.
"Next person... oh, is that it?"
The queue had finally vanished.
"Ryoma-kun, are you finished on your end?" Mimil asked.
"It looks that way, Mimil-san."
"Then could you gather the inedible scraps? I want to get rid of them."
"Understood. By the way, would it be alright if I kept the poisonous mushrooms I found?"
"The poisonous ones? We're just going to toss them, so I don't mind... oh, are they for your Slimes?"
"Yes. They’re toxic to humans, but they make perfect fodder for my Poison Slimes."
"In that case, go ahead. Just make sure you don't eat them by mistake."
"Thank you!"
With permission granted, I finished cleaning up and collected the inedible materials from the other staff. While I was at it, I spoke with the instructor teaching butchering and arranged to take the blood from the day's catch.
I made a quick trip back to my base to store the poisonous mushrooms in my Dimension Home, returning with a jar of Bloody Slimes.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
At the butchering station, prey hung from wooden frames, dripping blood.
"We don't need to do anything special, right?" the instructor asked.
"That's right. I'll place the Slimes in the tubs. You just bleed the animals out as you normally would, and they'll handle the rest."
I poured three Bloody Slimes into each of the three large tubs set out to catch the drainage. They were steadily multiplying, but I still had fewer than ten of them. I really wished they would increase faster.
As usual, once they submerged themselves in the red liquid, they became completely indistinguishable from the pools of blood.
"Ryoma-kun!"
"Coming! I wonder what it is now... excuse me, I’ll be right back."
I hurried around to the back of the carriage. Waiting for me were a female instructor and a young boy.
"Is something wrong?"
"The medicine I bought isn't working," the boy complained.
"He thinks he might have been sold a fake," the instructor explained, "but I can't tell for sure. You said you were knowledgeable about medicine, right?"
"I know a fair bit. May I see it?"
A fake? If he’d bought it at a reputable shop, that was highly unlikely.
"Here. The pharmacist told me it was a bit pricey because it was high-quality, so I spent my savings on it."
"Let's see..."
I took the small bottle from the boy, who was irritably scratching at his skin through his clothes. One look at the contents told me everything I needed to know.
"When did you start using this, and how often have you applied it?"
"Since this morning. It wasn't doing anything, so I think I’ve put it on five times already..."
"I see. This isn't a fake; it’s just degraded."
"Degraded?"
"Were you keeping this bottle in direct sunlight? This insect repellent uses some high-end ingredients, but it’s extremely sensitive to light. If you don't store it in a dark place, the effectiveness plummets. Also, this medicine can irritate the skin if used too frequently or if you have sensitive skin. That itchiness might actually be a reaction to the medicine itself, not just the bug bites. Did the shopkeeper explain any of this?"
"No, nothing!"
Whether the boy had simply stopped listening or the clerk had failed to mention it, I couldn't say. Regardless, the medicine was genuine.
"Thanks for the help," the instructor said. "Now that we know what's going on, I can take it from here."
"I appreciate it. Good luck."
"Excuse me, Instructor!"
"Yes, I'm on my way!"
It turned out quite a few people wanted my advice. I had expected to be ignored after the cold atmosphere on the first day, but I was surprisingly busy. I spent the next hour answering questions and offering guidance as politely as I could.
With winter approaching, the sun set early. By the time the tide of questions finally receded, most of the students had returned.
"Ryoma, you got a second?" Roche asked, walking over.
"What can I do for you, Roche-san?"
"A few kids are still missing. Specifically, that group of four who caused the stir on the first day. Have you seen them?"
"Those four... I saw them searching for prey in the forest quite a while ago, but nothing since. They definitely haven't checked in here."
"I see. I guess I'll head out and check the forest, then."
"The forest is where I last saw them, but... let me tell you something." I leaned in closer.
"Hmm?"
"Those four seemed to have taken a trap request. I overheard them complaining that they couldn't find any Rock Lizards in the forest and were debating heading toward the plains."
In other words, there was no guarantee they were still in the woods.
"Right. Then I'd better send someone toward the—actually, never mind."
Roche-san cut himself off. Before I could ask why, he pointed a thick finger behind me.
"Ah. I see."
Following his gaze, I saw the four boys in question trudging back safely. Their steps were heavy, but they didn't look injured—just exhausted and weighed down by their haul.
"You're late!" Roche barked.
"Sorry!"
"Catching these took longer than we thought!"
"But we got plenty to show for it!"
"Check this out!"
The four shouted back to Roche-san, proudly hoisting their catch.
"Grass Rats? And eight of them?"
"You bet. We're pretty good at hunting."
"Once you find the nest, it's easy!"
"Hey, shut it! Sorry, Instructor."
Wait, what was with that sudden shift? When I looked at them, they became as quiet as well-behaved pets.
"Um... did I do something?" I asked.
"You're the manager of Bamboo Forest, aren't you?" the boy who seemed to be the leader asked.
"I am. Is there a problem with the shop?"
"Nah. Your shop is famous for being kind to people from the slums. Because of that, we were told not to cause any trouble for your shop or your people."
"Told by whom?"
"The adults in the slums. Look, we’re poor, right? Even if we’re not doing anything wrong, there are plenty of shops that hate having us around or try to chase us off. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s just a nasty attitude. Word spreads fast. We don't go out of our way to cause trouble, but the elders tell us to stay away from places that treat us like trash because it’s dangerous if things escalate. But for a place that treats us right, like yours? The word is 'don't you dare mess with them.'"
It seemed they shared reputations, both good and bad, within their community.
"We’ve heard the rumors for a while—that the manager was a kid who'd thrashed delinquent adventurers and thugs before hauling them off to the Guard Force. We just didn't know what you looked like. Then after that run-in yesterday, we realized you were the manager everyone talks about. These guys got a bit spooked. They figured they’d either get a lecture from the slum elders or a beating from you."
"We weren't spooked!"
"We were just being respectful!"
The boy explaining the situation laughed as his friends booed him.
"I understand," I said. "But for the record, I'm not dwelling on what happened yesterday. I’m not going to beat you up just for being a little rude. Unless you actually try to kill me, that is."
"See? I told you guys. If he were like that, the elders would’ve told us to stay away from him, too. Oh, I’m Gazel. Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too, Gazel."
He seemed like a straightforward kid. I’d heard his group frequently clashed with Beck and his friends, but they didn't seem particularly malicious—just blunt. I personally felt that for kids their age, having that kind of energy was probably a good thing.
"Hey, we want to butcher these. Is there a spot for it?"
"Right behind that carriage."
"Thanks! Alright, let’s get these dressed. Move it!"
Gazel led his companions around the back of the carriage.
"Energetic kids, aren't they?" Roche commented.
"They certainly are. A personality like that keeps a party’s spirits up. Of course, sometimes that energy leads to trouble... but you saw that firsthand yesterday. Once you talk to them, they aren't bad kids. They just have a hard time being honest. When you were young—"
Roche-san stopped mid-sentence.
"Is something wrong?"
"No... I just realized that even without saying 'when you were young,' you're still only ten or so. When I'm talking to you and not looking at your face, I forget I'm talking to a kid. You feel like someone much older."
"I get that a lot."
Well, it helps that there's a middle-aged man living inside me. Our mental ages are probably about the same.
"By the way, Roche-san. They mentioned they’d heard stories about me."
"You're the youngest instructor here. To the students, you're younger than they are. And then you go and build a stone house every time we stop—of course you're going to stand out. Someone probably asked around or started gossiping. Most of the students are fresh recruits, but a lot of the instructors were part of that big Goblin subjugation. Going wild against delinquent adventurers and Goblins, running a shop, taking down robbers... if you do all that, it's only natural that the rookies have heard at least one of those tales."
True, I suppose I had been a bit flashy.
"So now everyone knows I'm the one from the rumors."
"Pretty much. Hey, look on the bright side—it's better than them looking down on you."
"I suppose so."
I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about the notoriety, but at least my abilities were being recognized.
Regardless, every student was now safely accounted for. Under the brilliant starry sky, campfires flickered across the grounds. Some were for cooking dinner, others for warming bodies chilled by the night breeze. Watching the students smile around the flames, a sense of peace settled over me.
"Whoa!?"
"What the hell!?"
"!?"
But it seemed peace was always short-lived. A sudden scream shattered the quiet of the campsite.