We slowly made our way up the animal trail, gathering herbs and taking lots of breaks along the way. I adjusted my pace to match Liluetta and Yune, who were moving at a sluggish speed. The slope wasn’t too steep. But walking was difficult on soft, damp ground with tree roots sticking out everywhere, and anyone who wasn’t used to it would get tired fast. I was pretty sure the two of them weren’t used to paths like this.
That made sense. The streets in town were paved with stone, weren’t they? My village had nothing like that, so I’d been shocked when I’d first arrived in town. For Liluetta and Yune, though, those smooth, stable, and well-maintained roads were normal. If they had only ever walked on even, solid ground like that, of course they would struggle with rough terrain.
So falling behind wasn’t their fault at all. But I felt a slow-burning, almost unbearable frustration creeping up my back. When I glanced behind me, the gap between us had widened again. As I waited for them to catch up, I looked up at the sky. The sun, peeking through the gaps in the foliage, had already passed its peak.
With every passing moment, my frustration and regret grew. Even if this situation had started because of Waine, I was feeling more and more like I should’ve turned down this party from the start.
Our progress was slow. Since we were taking our time, I did have more chances to search for herbs. And I was finding plenty, but I was also going to make less money than usual because we were splitting the earnings three ways. I had given away my canteen on top of that, and now my throat was parched.
Teaming up with these two was nothing but a loss for me, wasn’t it? The vague unease I had felt from the start was solidifying into certainty.
Earlier, when we’d been gathering herbs, I’d learned that these two were serious and diligent. After talking to them, I’d also realized they were actually nice girls, and Liluetta’s gesture of gratitude had mesmerized me. But their lack of stamina was a real issue when it came to traveling together. Old Badger had once told me to think carefully when choosing party members, and he’d been absolutely right. If I was going to have companions, I needed ones who could at least keep up with me.
Our return time wasn’t flexible. We had to make it back to town before sunset or the gates would close. How much time would we even have left once we reached the top of this hill?
“Hey, Kiri. This is a very simple question, but why are we climbing a mountain?” Liluetta, who had finally caught up, voiced her doubts.
Yune nodded in agreement. “Wouldn’t there be herbs in a forest that’s easier to walk in? One with fewer slopes?”
Well, I figured they’d ask that eventually. For two people with so little stamina, making this their very first adventure was probably too much. I should have realized that back when I saw Liluetta’s choice of shoes the day before.
That said, I had my own reasons. I couldn’t just adjust everything to accommodate them.
“Um, first off, this isn’t a mountain,” I told them. “It’s a hill.”
“No, it’s a mountain.”
“It’s a mountain, yes.”
They shot my explanation down before I even got started.
But I wasn’t giving up. “It’s a hill. It’s not that high, and besides, it’s called Sherzon Hills, isn’t it?” I remembered seeing it labeled that way on the map Old Badger had shown me that rainy day. So there was no doubt. These were the Sherzon Hills. Not a mountain.
“Sherzon Mountain is a mountain. Who told you it was a hill? Sure, since it’s close to town and people have called this area ‘the hills’ for a long time, the elderly still refer to it that way. Old maps also label it as such. But in terms of elevation, it’s a mountain. Everyone else calls it Sherzon Mountain now.”
“Oh...” I groaned, covering my face.
Liluetta was probably right. Old Badger had been an old man, and that map was probably outdated. So this was a mountain, huh? No wonder the slope felt so steep. I had just accepted it as a hill because it was smaller than any of the mountains near my village.
I’d been about to say something like, An adventurer should at least be able to climb a hill! But now that argument was dead in the water.
“Well, fine, maybe it is a mountain. But, um, this place is the only option.”
“Why?” Liluetta narrowed her eyes. Her shoes, brand-new just yesterday, were already covered in mud, and she scuffed them against the ground. She was clearly exhausted and drenched in sweat as she leaned against a tree for support. But her gaze was as sharp as thorns.
Liluetta had called it a simple question, but I could tell—if I didn’t have a good reason for choosing this as her first adventure instead of somewhere easier, she was going to be mad. She had been grateful when I gave her my water earlier, but that goodwill had probably already expired.
Well, I did have a reason. “There’s a certain herb that can only be harvested for a short time,” I began, but then I paused. That reason was entirely my own, and I hadn’t considered their stamina when I chose this place. If I had been thinking about them, I would’ve just taken them to the riverbank instead. If nothing else had been on my mind, I definitely would’ve done that. But I had my own reasons. That was why I had come all the way out here, even with them in tow.
I let out a slow breath. Honestly, I hadn’t planned to talk about this yet. From what I’d heard, the place I was looking for was hard to find. If I got their hopes up, only to fail in the end, that would be really embarrassing. But now that they were questioning me like this, I figured it was better to just explain.
“Near the summit of this, uh, mountain, there’s this place called a mana pool.” If my explanation didn’t convince them, would they turn back here? That was fine. I had no problem with that. “It’s full of valuable herbs. We found goblin tracks nearby last time, so we went somewhere else instead. But that goblin pack’s been wiped out, so I want to try searching for it again.”
When I’d gone on that goblin hunt with Waine, Sheya, and Chikka, we’d tracked the stragglers to make sure we’d gotten rid of them all. The trail had led to the top of Sherzon Mountain. In other words, there were no goblins left. That was when I remembered the first mana pool, the place where Old Badger had originally planned to guide us. The herbs growing there were supposed to be the same purple flowers that grew at the other mana pool, which meant they were only in season for fifteen days. They should still be harvestable, but the only problem was that I had no idea where the mana pool actually was.
“So you know it exists, but you still have to search for it?” Liluetta asked.
“Huh? Oh. Yeah. I don’t know the exact location. The person who told me about it...” I paused. “He already left for the capital.”
“I see.” She pressed a finger to her lips and fell into a long silence.
I couldn’t tell if she had accepted my explanation or not.
And then, she spoke again. “I might be able to find that harvesting spot.”