The Former Child Prodigy Learns A Warning About Giant Lizards

The guild buyer let out a cry of surprise at the medicinal herb I had brought in—Karlsgood Grass.

“It has been a very long time since such a fresh medicinal herb was brought in!”

“Oh? Is that so?”

It was true that higher-quality medicinal herbs were welcomed, since they increased the effectiveness of the potions made from them or increased the yield produced.

But—

“Is it really that rare?”

I did not think it was that extraordinary. It felt like there should be plenty of it in that great forest.

“In the past, it showed up every so often, but—these past few years, not at all…”

“Why is that?”

“Well, um…”

The buyer lowered her voice and continued in a mumble.

“The largest clan in the Imperial Capital, Black Dragon’s Fang, has it monopolized…”

I had not expected to hear that name here.

“Black Dragon’s Fang does?”

“Yes. Black Dragon’s Fang has exclusive land in the great forest, and high-quality medicinal herbs come from there, but from anywhere else, practically nothing.”

Hmm…?

Something about that did not quite sit right with me. I did think there were places where high-quality medicinal herbs were more likely to grow and places where they were less likely to grow, but the idea that they only grew in that exclusive area sounded strange. In a forest that huge.

“So they do not grow anywhere outside that exclusive area?”

“That was not necessarily the case in the past. But in the last few years, it really has been like that. It might be different deeper in the forest, but the number of monsters in the forest has increased in recent years, so adventurers who do herb-gathering jobs cannot go that far.”

The number of monsters was increasing…?

It interested me, but it did not seem like pressing further would lead anywhere, so I decided to change the subject.

“Does it cause problems if Black Dragon’s Fang monopolizes them?”

“Black Dragon’s Fang does not go through the Adventurer’s Guild. They sell directly to their own business partners.”

“I see. So the Adventurer’s Guild has a problem because it cannot make money from it.”

“If that were all, it would not be quite so serious…”

The buyer gave a troubled smile.

“Black Dragon’s Fang supplies high-quality medicinal herbs on favorable terms only to their own trading partners. But there are many others who want high-quality medicinal herbs too. In the case of us at the Adventurer’s Guild, we have a position as a public institution, so we distribute them fairly—that is the difference.”

…I see. So that clan was doing something like that. Since it was a profit-making organization, I could not say I completely failed to understand them focusing all their efforts on what made them money.

“I understand the situation—if only there were more high-quality medicinal herbs.”

As I said that, I took the rest of the Karlsgood Grass out of my Item Box in great bundles.

The buyer’s eyes sparkled.

“I will appraise them!”

The buyer picked them up one by one—

“Um… eh, eh, eh, eh!? This one too, and that one, and that one too! Amazing! The quality is incredible!”

She raised an excited cry. Then the other buyers came over to see what was going on and looked at my herbs. And then—

“O-ohhh! It’s true, these are incredible!”

“Such high quality!?”

“And in such large quantities!?”

They all voiced their shock one after another. Was this Karlsgood Grass really that amazing? I had gotten lucky.

A middle-aged man with an important air about him spoke to me.

“Young man, were these growing in a cluster somewhere?”

“Huh?”

A cluster? …Ah, because they were all high quality, he thought they had grown in the same place.

“No, they were not growing in a cluster or anything… I just picked them at random near the entrance to the forest.”

“There is no way something gathered near the entrance to the great forest could be this high in quality!”

He got really angry at me.

…Was that so? But I really had gathered them near the forest entrance.

The buyer who had originally been dealing with me spoke to the middle-aged man.

“Um, perhaps he wants to keep it secret as an adventurer.”

“Mm… I see. Well, it is their livelihood…”

They made up some strange theory on their own, then accepted it on their own.

The conversation had gone wildly off track, but in the end, they bought them for twice the price of ordinary medicinal herbs.

Herb gathering really did make good pocket money. It looked like I might be able to gather the fifty thousand gold needed for full registration on my own.

I was still only provisionally registered, but it was not a bad start.

I felt like I had caught a small glimpse of a brighter future.

Just as I was about to leave the Adventurer’s Guild in a good mood—

My eyes happened to land on a poster stuck to the wall.

“Giant Lizards are increasing in the great forest. New adventurers engaged in gathering activities should stay alert.”

A giant lizard, huh. …I would be careful.

Two weeks after the employment exam ended, Phonic the Meteor Swordsman was spending hectic days.

“Pigya!”

A single strike from Phonic brought a Giant Lizard to its death. It was a giant lizard about two meters long. Their numbers were increasing in the great forest, and even Phonic, one of the Eight Stars, had been sent out to exterminate them.

“Oooooh! As expected of Lord Phonic!”

The subordinates around him showered him with praise. Phonic showed them a faint smile, but—

That was only outwardly. Inside, his heart was wrapped in impatience.

As one of the Eight Stars, he had to quickly regain the trust from Orfred that he had lost!

That was what he was thinking.

To do that, he needed a major assignment. A major assignment that would catch Orfred’s attention. But in reality, all Phonic was doing was hunting giant lizards in the forest.

It was an extremely frustrating situation.

Then one day, after Phonic returned to guild headquarters, he received a direct summons from Orfred.

(…What could this be?)

The moment Phonic visited the office and Orfred saw his face, he said this.

“There have been increasing sightings of a Geo Dragon deep in the great forest.”

“A Geo Dragon—!”

A Geo Dragon. Just as the name suggested, it was a dragon-type monster over twenty meters in length. It could not fly, but in exchange it possessed sturdy gray scales and immense durability.

It was a calamity-class monster that could not be defeated unless the adventurer was S-rank.

Not just Giant Lizards—even something that enormous had appeared!

Orfred continued speaking.

“The Adventurer’s Guild has sent Black Dragon’s Fang a request to subjugate the Geo Dragon. …Naturally, I intend to accept it.”

After saying that, Orfred asked Phonic:

“Phonic, do you have any experience slaying dragons?”

“I do not.”

“I see.”

After brushing that aside lightly, Orfred continued, in a casual tone as though he were asking for a small errand.

“Then would you like to try?”

“I will do it.”

Phonic answered immediately. There was no hesitation in him.

Dragon slaying—Phonic did not shrink back from such words. If anything, his chest swelled with excitement. As a first-rate swordsman, a dragon was not something to fear. It was something to defeat, and something whose defeat one could take pride in.

And that chance had finally come—now.

Honor for a swordsman!

And besides, Phonic understood.

This was his chance to recover lost ground. Orfred was telling him to carry out this mission without fail and prove the brilliance of one of the Eight Stars, however faded it had become.

That was why Phonic declared it clearly.

“Leave it to me. I, Phonic the Meteor Swordsman, will surely live up to your expectations!”