Chapter 250: Extra Chapter - Search for the Flower of the Oomi Grass

“Cough, cough.”

“Keh.”

One day as the New Year approached, the town was bustling with people who looked unwell.

“Everyone seems kind of sick.”

It wasn’t just the market; it was the same at the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Cough.”

“Gofuu.”

Hmm, is this some kind of epidemic…

With the situation like this, maybe the adventurers aren’t in any condition to work either, because the reception desk was deserted.

“Everyone seems unwell, what happened?”

I decided to ask the receptionist at the counter, who also looked sick.

“Yes, exactly. It seems Suwashi disease has started to go around…”

“Speaking of Suwashi disease, it’s an illness that easily spreads during the cold season.”

It rarely becomes severe, but catching it during the busy year-end and New Year period makes it a bit of a troublesome illness.

“Thank you for letting me know. Please take care of yourself.”

“Yes, I plan to go home and sleep as soon as my shift is over.”

On the way back, there were many people who looked sick after all, and foot traffic was sparse.

“I’m home~”

” ” ” ” ” Welcome back~ ” ” ” ” “

When I returned to the mansion, everyone’s cheerful voices welcomed me.

“You guys are all full of energy.”

“Ah, you mean about the Suwashi disease.”

“I’m full of energy all the time!!”

“You’re just too dense to even notice when you get sick, aren’t you?”

“An illness you don’t even notice is the same as not catching it at all!”

“This guy…”

While smiling wryly at Jairo-kun and the others’ exchange, Liliera-san continued speaking.

“It’s troublesome when that goes around. It’s safer to either stay quiet at home for a while or take on a request that goes somewhere with few people. In my case, I wanted to earn money as steadily as possible.”

I see, so taking a request that involves a long trip is also an option.

“But I want to relax during the year-end and New Year.”

“There’s no medicine that works on Suwashi disease, so it’s tough that all you can do is eat nutritious food, lie still, and wait for it to pass.”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

I tilted my head in confusion at Liliera-san’s strange remark, and she also tilted her head, going, “Eh?”

“There’s no medicine that works on Suwashi disease, right? There isn’t… right?”

“No, there is. You just have to use Oomi grass.”

“No way!? There was a specific medicine for Suwashi disease!?”

“I mean, I know Oomi grass is somewhat valuable, but I’ve never heard of it being a specific medicine for Suwashi disease, you know?”

“To be precise, it’s the flower. You boil the flower down to make the medicine.”

“A flower? The Oomi grass blooms a flower?”

“Yes, it blooms at night during the year-end period. Right now is exactly the season.”

Yes, the Oomi grass begins preparing to bloom a flower when the cold season arrives.

And because it blooms right around the turn of the new year, it’s also called the New Year Flower.

“I know, let’s make the specific medicine for Suwashi disease and go around distributing it to the neighborhood!”

” ” ” ” ” Eeh!? ” ” ” ” “

“If Suwashi disease spreads, the shops will close and we won’t even be able to go out and relax, after all. If so, let’s distribute the medicine to the neighborhood and all relax together!”

“Eh? But you just said you wanted to relax during the year-end…”

“Yes, gathering Oomi grass and making the medicine won’t take that much effort, after all.”

Yeah, if I have everyone take the medicine I make while I’m at it, I can expect a preventative effect too, killing two birds with one stone.

Leaving the Royal Capital right away, we were flying toward the northern forest.

“Oomi grass grows in clusters in open areas deep inside cold forests. So if you look for open areas in the forest from the sky, you can easily find a cluster.”

“First of all, learning Flight Magic isn’t easy, you know.”

Eh? I don’t think that’s true, though?

After flying over the forest for a while, an open area in the center of the forest came into view.

“Let’s try landing over there.”

Landing in the open area, we discovered a cluster of Oomi grass exactly as aimed for.

“Amazing! There’s so much Oomi grass!”

Immediately checking the Oomi grass, as expected, we found the flowers of the Oomi grass.

However, they are still buds.

“It’ll take a little longer for the flowers to bloom. They’ll probably bloom tonight, I think.”

“In that case, does that mean we’re camping out here tonight?”

“That’s how it’ll be.”

“Alright, then let’s hunt some monsters or somethin’ until nightfall!”

“Before that, we need to prepare for camping!”

Mina-san held back Jairo-kun, who was about to go hunt monsters, and we began preparing to camp.

And when Jairo-kun and the others returned from hunting and we ate dinner, it became the perfect time.

“Ah, the flowers!”

Looking in the direction Meguri-san raised her voice, the buds of the Oomi grass were beginning to open.

“We just need to take these back, right!”

“Yes, let’s harvest them while repelling the monsters aiming for these flowers!”

” ” ” ” ” Ye… a…h? ” ” ” ” “

Everyone had been showing motivation, but for some reason, the ends of their sentences shrank down small.

“What’s wrong?”

“What did you just say?”

“I said, there are monsters aiming for these flowers, so let’s harvest them while repelling them.”

“Monsters are coming!?”

“Yes, there are monsters that love the flowers of the Oomi grass, but they aren’t big deal monsters, so there’s no need to worry that much.”

” ” ” ” ” Reallyyy? ” ” ” ” “

◆ Guildmaster ◆

Suwashi disease was going around the Royal Capital.

It ain’t a disease that gets severe all that often, but it’s a troublesome illness with no cure.

Because of that, not just in the town, but adventurers at the Adventurer’s Guild were also catching the disease, decreasing the number of guys taking on requests, which was causing trouble.

“Here you go, there’s enough for everyone too~.”

Just as I was thinking that, the guild lobby was somehow noisy.

It’s rare, considering there are so many guys laid up in bed with Suwashi disease.

Since there were no people and little work, I showed my face in the lobby, which is rare for me.

Fortunately, the adventurers and staff seemed to have their attention drawn by the source of the commotion, so no one noticed me.

“That’s…”

The one there was Lexus, the Big-Game Eater, who could be called our guild’s famous adventurer.

It seems that guy is the cause of this commotion.

“Here you go, I prepared a cure for Suwashi disease. If you feel unwell, please definitely drink it. Even if you don’t feel unwell, it acts as a preventative medicine, so please definitely drink it.”

“Seriously! I’ve been feeling under the weather since yesterday!”

“But how much is it? I haven’t been able to work lately, so I don’t have much on hand…”

“Please don’t worry about it. These are leftovers from distributing them to my neighborhood. You can have it for free.”

“Seriously!? Then can I get one?”

“Yes, here you go.”

Hearing they could get it for free, the adventurers and staff swarmed him.

Or rather, a cure for Suwashi disease!? I’ve never heard of such a thing!

The Big-Game Eater’s medicine dwindled in the blink of an eye.

“You don’t have to rush, there’s plenty, so don’t push and line up politely!”

“Please rest assured, there’s enough for the staff members as well.”

Against the swarming adventurers, the Big-Game Eater’s comrades, little miss Liliera and the others, brought out additional medicine.

“Hey, hey, seriously…”

Not only did he bring a cure for Suwashi disease, which isn’t supposed to have one, but there’s even enough for the guild staff!?

More importantly, why the hell are those guys doing such a thing!?

“Hey, got a second?”

After they had finished distributing medicine to most of the swarming crowd and I saw the number of people decrease, I called out to the Big-Game Eater.

“Ah, Guildmaster, do you need a cure for Suwashi disease too?”

“Y-Yeah, I’ll gladly take one.”

“Here you go.”

I accepted the medicine from the Big-Game Eater.

“You, why are you doing this? Furthermore, are you seriously not accepting payment?”

“Yes, everyone’s having a hard time getting sick at the end of the year, after all.”

“…Eh?”

Because they’re having a hard time at the end of the year? Seriously? Is he being serious?

Well, if it cures the disease, our staff and the adventurers will be able to work again, so I guess I should be thankful.

“Even in my village, when a disease starts to spread, the healthy people make medicine and go around distributing it to everyone. It results in a decrease in the number of sick people, after all.”

Well, that might be true, but more importantly, isn’t that a rural village way of thinking? That ain’t something you do in the Royal Capital, right?

Dammit, this guy does things that lack common sense every single time, so I can never tell how serious he is.

That being said, as the head of the Adventurer’s Guild, there are things I need to confirm.

“Well, it’s a lifesaver. On behalf of our staff and the adventurers of the Royal Capital, I thank you.”

“No, please don’t worry about it. It’s only natural as someone living in the same town.”

No, it ain’t natural at all, you know?

“So, about that medicine, what do you intend to do about the manufacturing method?”

“The manufacturing method?”

“Yeah. Like how the guild previously undertook the manufacturing of the Lesser Panacea Antidote, will you commission the medicine to the guild? Or will you commission it to some village?”

Right, if it’s a cure for Suwashi disease, which was supposed to have no known treatment, there’ll be tons of guys who’ll want to know the recipe.

So as the one in the position of managing the Adventurer’s Guild, I gotta stop weirdos from swarming our adventurers.

“Let’s see. If I ask the Adventurer’s Guild, the cure will be easily obtainable in towns and villages outside the Royal Capital, won’t it? But the medicine we use in my village is a simple one that anyone knows, you know?”

“Rather, if it can be made that easily, it’s a huge help.”

Or rather, if it’s such a simple medicine, why does nobody know about it?

Could it be some kind of secret medicine passed down in the Big-Game Eater’s village?

If so, it’s only natural that nobody knows about it.

“Alright, then let’s make a contract and have you teach us how to make the medicine! Let’s discuss it in the reception room over there!”

And so, having moved the negotiations to the reception room, I was met with shocking words from the Big-Game Eater.

“The medicine uses the flower of the Oomi grass.”

“…Hah? The… flower of the Oomi grass!?”

I was astonished by the unbelievable words.

“So about how to make it…”

The Big-Game Eater continued explaining how to make the medicine, but I was in no state to listen.

“Guildmaster, what is the flower of the Oomi grass? I have never heard of it.”

Even after the Big-Game Eater and his group had left, the Vice-Guildmaster, suspicious of my stiff demeanor, asked about the flower of the Oomi grass.

I see, a guy his age wouldn’t know about the flower of the Oomi grass, huh.

“A-Ah. The Oomi grass blooms a flower once a year, but the problem is the method of harvesting that flower.”

“The method of harvesting the flower?”

“Yeah, the flower of the Oomi grass becomes a rare medicinal ingredient, but there’s a problem when harvesting it.”

“Which is?”

“The flower of the Oomi grass, you see, is the favorite food of the Jouya Tiger.”

“The Jouya Tiger!? The A-rank monster that lives in cold regions!?”

Hearing the name of the Jouya Tiger, the Vice-Guildmaster displayed a look of astonishment.

“Yeah, what’s more, a Jouya Tiger can distinguish the scent of an Oomi grass flower even from two towns away.”

“From two towns away!?”

Two towns away is a considerable distance.

An ordinary monster couldn’t do it even from the distance of one village.

“Yeah, so when the flowers of the Oomi grass bloom, Jouya Tigers from all over the neighboring areas gather and fight, scrambling over the few available flowers.”

“A-rank Jouya Tigers fight each other!?”

“That’s right. In other words, harvesting the flowers of the Oomi grass means fighting against the pack of Jouya Tigers aiming for it. To have enough to distribute the medicine throughout the entire town, I can’t even fathom how many Oomi grass flowers they gathered. And naturally, the number of Jouya Tigers they fought too…”

If it requires a massive amount of such a troublesome ingredient, then it’s only natural that the manufacturing method for the Suwashi disease cure wasn’t known.

It wasn’t because it was a secret medicine of a frontier village; it was simply because the difficulty of obtaining the ingredients for the medicine was too ridiculously high.

“To do that like it was nothing…”

The Vice-Guildmaster gulped, displaying a look of astonishment.

“Yeah, they really are outrageous, those S-rank adventurers…”

We quietly gave thanks for the good fortune that those guys made this town their base.