Death March — Fixed

“Tek here, back then, when quitting your job and becoming an independent internet cafe was popular. But nowadays, retiring and starting a farm has become popular.”

 

I was invited to Baronet Dyukeli’s mansion, to a banquet held therein, as a form of apologizing for Merian causing me trouble. It looks like I’m not the only one invited and it is a banquet.

 

When I was in the reception room, before the banquet began, Merian came and apologized to me--courteously thanking me for saving her life. She was wearing a deep blue dress, which exposed quite a bit of the soft-looking skin of her back.

 

With a wink, she whispered that she would be most appreciative if I didn’t tell her father about the matter of her attending the Swordsmanship Dojo.

 

It must have been my imagination that she turned back with an impish smile when I agreed.

 

***

“Since you’re going to be an Adventurer in Labyrinth City, you should get acquainted with them.” Baront Dyukeli introduced me as his daughter’s saviour, introduced me to the shopkeepers and merchants who had been invited.

 

Because most of the people at the banquet are of the mercantile persuasion, the conversation has naturally veered off into talks about which good sell well, and which are in a serious shortage.

 

It seems that Healing Potions, and weaker Healing Medicine are the primary goods in short supply. It seems that even for Baronet Dyukeli, whose shops’ prices are highly inflated, is running low.

 

“Does that mean that when healing is out of stock, Adventurers dive into the Labyrinth without any way of healing themselves?” This was the first question that occurred to me.

 

“No, poor Adventurers will take the leaves of the Beria plant with them.”

“This doesn’t really change whether Healing goods are in stock or not, because most people can’t afford the more expensive Potions or Medicines.”

 

It seems that Beria is the cactus-like plant that grows wild in the wasteland around the city. It also grows along the sides of the highway, if I’m not mistaken.

 

It is, however, unlike normal cacti, edible. The leaves can be used as a medicine that promotes coagulation, and the thick sap can help healing burns.

 

As for the fruit that grows in the center of the plant, even though it’s relatively tasty, it’s also known as the Beggar Killer--this is because it causes diarrhea which goes on until you’re dehydrated, if you eat too much. It can cause the death of children, the poor, or the elderly.

 

The baggage carries who fail to get a job end up picking the fruit and sell them at the city gate, to earn enough of an income to sustain themselves.

 

“Maybe there’s a way to make a Healing Medicine from the Beria Leaf?” I couldn’t help but ask.

 

“Well, there’s a legend about the Sage of olden days, who can create a Magic Potion from the Beria Leaf, but it’s a tale from a long time ago.”

 

By Sage, does he mean Trazayuya?

 

I searched for Beria in his documents, but there were no hits.

 

When I next go to the Elven town, I’ll ask Tsutoreiya the Alchemist if her knows any recipes for making Potions from Beria Leaves.

 

***

Later, when I went around one of the merchant’s shops, I also saw various items.

 

Among those items, it seems that a silvery sword, created from Ant Wings, was quite popular. It was one of the easiest Magic Swords to make from the Monster Materials in Labyrinth City. Since the way it was created was written in Trazayuya’s documents, I gave a copy to Mara for her to try and create; she had almost been in heaven recently, with all the new items and armours to make.

 

***

When I asked the Marchioness about somewhere I could utilize a lot of slaves that I had ‘accidentally acquired’--she requested that I redevelop the experimental farm outside Labyrinth City.

 

The farm has nothing to do with Beria, but it was created outside a small nearby water source, and was an experiment in growing wheat; however, it was abandoned since the yield was bad.

 

I was looking to find jobs for the slaves that I had rescued as Kuro. Most of them had either been originally slaves, or offered to become slaves to stay safe. They were the ones with Compounding and Alchemy, or the ones who would rather stay with me; they became slaves so I wouldn’t ‘throw them away’ -- and because they now knew I was ‘Kuro’.

 

Since the land has become barren, I decided to grow Beria fruits for Healing Medicine, beans for food, and tomatoes.

 

***

When I Teleported to the Elven town, and after spending time with Aiz, I went to Tsutoreiya; I asked him about the recipe, and he easily gave it to me, writing it down. Apparently, it was well known around town, which was why it wasn’t in Trazayuya’s documents…it was too common.

 

Coming back to Labyrinth City, I immediately began to make the Healing Potions, and confirmed its effectiveness on Iruna and Gena’s apprentices--there was no danger to them, since I had some strong Healing Potions and Magic ready in case something went wrong.

 

Since the effect wasn’t ridiculously strong, it could be considered normal, I decided to make it public. To make it more authentic, I wrote it on some paper and placed it in chests that I had laid around the Labyrinth.

 

They should also understand that it’s real, because I put a sample of the Potion in each chest.

 

The first recipe was discovered five days later, and after testing, Labyrinth City seemed to be enveloped by a slightly festive mood.

 

While thinking about this, I watched the baggage carriers who were happily harvesting Beria which grew wild around the city. These were the children who didn’t manage to pass the test, but they did this under our supervision--hoping that it would give them a higher chance of passing next time.