The Former Child Prodigy Finds Granveil Grass

The man’s voice sounded like he was enjoying himself to no end.

I had no idea what any of this meant. I had never seen the man called Glantz before, and I had no memory of doing anything that would make him hate me enough to want me dead.

“Why would you do something like this?”

“How should I know? All we care about is whether the job pays well—!”

The man’s line was cut off by a sudden scream.

It was the voice of the other guard. A sword was sticking out from the chest of the man standing beside him.

When the sword was pulled out, the man’s body—already dead—collapsed like a puppet and stopped moving. Behind him— just as I thought, several kobolds were standing there.

So they came from the direction we had come from… that must have been the presence I sensed in the side passage earlier…

The surviving man spoke in an excited voice.

“No way! I heard we’d be safe as long as we blew the whistle…!”

The man hurriedly blew the whistle over and over, but it meant nothing. The kobolds attacked.

“Damn it! Don’t screw with me! You’re just dogs!”

The man swung the sword he had drawn, but a kobold easily knocked it aside.

“What is this movement, this strength!? Th-this isn’t normal!?”

That voice of protest turned into a scream.

“Aghyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

That man too was killed in a single blow from a kobold.

Stepping over the corpses of the two men, the kobolds steadily entered the room.

Kobolds in front of me, kobolds behind me too.

Apparently, just as the man said, these were a little far from normal.

The kobolds growled, grrrrr, their mouths wet with saliva. I did not know much about monster behavior, but the emotions coming through from their eyes held not a shred of sanity.

They did not look like they were going to let me go. Unless I defeated these things, it looked like I would end up just like the pair of men.

…Were they strong…?

Could it be that they were not ordinary kobolds?

A sense of danger crawled over my back like a snake.

“GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

With a roar, one of the kobolds sprang at me.

I drew the dagger at my waist—the dagger Arisa had given me.

As I dodged the attack, I slashed the kobold’s throat with the dagger. Its bulging muscles split open with ease, and spraying blood, the kobold stopped breathing in an instant.

…Hmm.

“They’re not that strong—no, they’re weak. They’re no different from ordinary kobolds.”

If they were just ordinary kobolds, then even I, a student sword saint, could manage somehow.

The air in the chamber was quickly dyed with the smell of blood.

Because I had killed all the kobolds. Their corpses were lying all over the place.

…I felt a little sorry for them, but they had really come at me with every intention of killing me… and they were monsters, so it was self-defense.

“Phew… somehow, I managed…”

I let out a long breath.

I was glad they were only ordinary kobolds.

For now, I had gotten through the hard part, but—

Now what was I supposed to do?

The two guards had been killed by the kobolds, so I could not ask them for the details.

After thinking for a bit, I decided on my next course of action.

I would go after Glantz.

He might already have escaped, but— it was better than doing nothing.

Having decided on a plan, I returned to the first large chamber where I had parted ways with Glantz. I walked down the path Glantz had taken.

As I kept going farther and farther ahead—

I came to another small chamber.

Apparently there was a hole in the rocky ceiling, and a single shaft of moonlight leaked through it and shone onto the ground. There, a clump of grass was growing.

The moment I saw that grass, my skin prickled.

—Was that Granveil Grass!?

It was the precious medicinal herb my little sister Arisa had asked me to bring back for her.

I thought my eyes might be deceiving me. The guild appraiser had said so, had he not? That it was extremely rare. But there was no way I was mistaken. Because Arisa had asked me for it, I had checked the illustrated reference book over and over again so that I absolutely would not overlook it.

I approached and carefully examined the grass.

…No matter how many times I looked, there was no mistake. This was Granveil Grass.

What should I do?

Of course, I would harvest it.

It was something my sister had asked me for—and with this grass, my sister’s friend’s life could be saved.

Then I remembered something else.

I had heard it at the guild—that for now, it could only be gathered in Black Dragon’s Fang’s exclusive territory.

If that was the case, then could this possibly belong to Black Dragon’s Fang? Would that make me a thief if I took it?

But that part was fine.

Before entering the cave, I had confirmed it with Glantz. I had asked whether this place was Black Dragon’s Fang’s exclusive territory. But Glantz had clearly denied it. He said it was not.

And if that was the case, then this was not Black Dragon’s Fang’s exclusive territory.

Then this was no different from wild grass growing on its own, belonging to no one. If I found it here and harvested it, there should not be any problem.

I harvested the Granveil Grass.

Good.

When I went deeper into the cave—

I ended up coming right out into the open. Apparently, besides the place where we had entered, the cave also connected to the outside elsewhere.

This was probably where Glantz had escaped from.

The whole situation was completely absurd.

The request was as good as canceled, so I would return to the Imperial Capital and report everything to the Adventurers’ Guild.

…Good grief, in the end I never found out why Glantz had tried to kill me. Everything remained shrouded in mystery, and I gained nothing from it.

No, I did gain something.

Granveil Grass.

For the sake of her friend who was close to death, my little sister Arisa had asked something of me.

—Please find Granveil Grass for me. I wonder if we can make a miracle happen?

That wish truly got through— and a miracle happened.

These hands of mine had truly seized it.

If I gave this to her, Arisa would surely be happy.

A warm feeling spread through my chest. I had done it. I had fulfilled my little sister’s wish.

“Just wait for me, Arisa!”

I started walking toward the Imperial Capital. I wanted to get home as soon as possible.

I could not wait to see Arisa’s happy face!