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TL: ALT
Chapter 30 – Day 29 of Living in the Demonic Land
When I woke up in the morning, Jennifer was burning wood.
“Looks like you can at least take care of the fire.”
“I haven’t been able to do anything since I came to this demonic land. I can’t even go home. This is the first time I’ve been in such a harsh environment. Now that Makyo-san and Cher-san have returned, the monsters have finally calmed down, and they haven’t attacked me either.”
It seems that Jennifer was also attacked by the monsters in the cave.
I gave Jennifer a staff with a paralyzing effect.
“If you paralyze the monsters with this and kill them, you should be able to make it to the stream at the entrance.”
I had prepared this for her before we went to bed. Thanks to this staff, Cher was also able to level up.
Jennifer didn’t take the staff and suddenly got down on her knees.
“I will definitely pay for the shelter! I realized my own weakness in this demonic land! I know I’m not good enough! But please, can I have permission to stay here for a while? If I just leave without doing anything, nothing will change!”
“You want to change? What about your story about getting revenge on your ex-comrades?”
“Revenge is just an excuse for me! I said that because I had no other reason to live and I didn’t want to admit my weakness. Now I’m ashamed of myself.”
Jennifer looked up at me while on her knees.
The haughty air was gone from Jennifer, who was wearing tattered priest clothes. Perhaps she had suddenly become humble after admitting her own weakness.
“I think you’ve changed a lot already, but is there something you want to do here?”
Just because she has become humble doesn’t mean that she will find a reason to live. If she wants to live for the sake of the world and other people, there’s no point in being stuck in a place like this…
“Can you teach me about adventures?”
“Huh?”
“I became a priest to cure my mother’s illness. But my mother died before I became a priest. Her last words to me were, ‘Live freely.’ I became an adventurer as she wished, but all I’ve done as an adventurer is to balance the party and provide support. I just do the jobs I can do and keep the party going. I haven’t done anything freely! So please teach me how to be an adventurer!”
“Well, you can do it on your own. I don’t want to go on an adventure, and I just want to know what’s on my own property, so I’ll just go to the desert.”
“Then I’ll bother you for a while on my own!”
After saying that, Jennifer stood up, bowed, and walked over to Cher, who was baking bread by my side.
“Please teach me how to make bread!”
“Huh? The baked bread is delicious, you know.”
Cher seemed to have no idea what Jennifer was saying and looked at me. Well, women should get along.
Wait a minute. We have another roommate now, don’t we?
“Huh? That’s weird. What did I do wrong?”
I went to feed Forest Rat, water the field, and pull out the weeds, but I still did not understand. I felt like I would lose if I kept thinking about it. If it was my fault for not responding because I was thrown off my pace, the best thing to do would be to get back into my rhythm of life.
I hadn’t been there for a few days, so I thought maybe the field had been overrun by swamp birds, but it was just that the weeds had been allowed to grow unchecked. The bendgrass hadn’t grown much either, so maybe the Swimmers’ Birds had learned that the area was a little dangerous. [T/n: I’m sorry for the mistake. I’ll rename Swimmer’s Bird to Swamp Bird from now on; I’ll try to edit them when I have the time, hehe].
And the vegetables I hadn’t watered had grown quickly. I was afraid they might have died, so I was very happy to see them. I pulled out the weeds, manipulated the water flow in the marsh, and sprinkled water.
I went back to the cave and ate the bread and meat that Cher and Jennifer had made.
By the time I counted, today was the day we were going to the training facility.
I had to get the tools to build the boat and some clothes for the women. It seemed that most of Jennifer’s luggage had been eaten by the plants in the demonic land, and all that was left was a tattered priest’s robe.
“Should I weave it out of grass?”
“No, I don’t want to live such a primitive life, and you can go on such an adventure by yourself. We’ll watch.”
If we’re going anyway, I’ve decided to make a few more staff as barter material.
We can go to the training ground in the afternoon. It’ll take me and Cher about an hour to get there. We have plenty of time.
I picked out the hardest wood around the cave and used an axe to chop off the branches. Then, I used a knife to shape it and put in the magic stone that Cher had chosen. It was a magic stone smaller than a fist, and it was the one we had hunted when we were looking for leafbirds.
I don’t know what effect it has, but Cher said, “It’s not that great.”
“Well, it’s like a service item.”
When I said that, Jennifer suddenly spoke up, “That’s not true!”
“From what I can see, it’s a staff that seals the opponent’s movements, right?”
“Yes, but…?”
“I think it’s a very good weapon as a debuffer. This staff is not cheap.”
“I wonder…”
Cher and I, who had made it, scratched our heads and blushed.
Jennifer, who had been in the capital for a long time, said that, so it might be true.
For now, we gathered up the staff we had made, tied them together with vines, and put them on the shoiko. Since we’re going back, we decided to take an empty backpack with us.
We ate a light lunch and then headed to the training facility.
Of course, Jennifer couldn’t keep up with our pace, so she stayed behind. Cher also taught her how to use the staff so she should be able to fight the monsters around the cave now. Jennifer also seemed to have gained confidence after killing only one Golden Bat.
“Have a good trip!”
Jennifer waved goodbye, and it seemed strangely familiar.
“W-w-what should we do?”
Cher asked in a low voice, pointing at Jennifer.
“No, she’s not going home.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know. She said she wanted to go on an adventure, so she’s staying by herself.”
“Is it the same with Cher?”
I think it’s different because Cher can’t go home, but Jennifer can.
“I feel like I’m being pushed around.”
I felt uncomfortable all the time.
The river that marks the border with the demonic land is really close compared to the desert. If I run into a monster, I can either attack it and send it away, or Cher can kill it with magic.
Compared to the forest and the desert, those at the entrance to the demonic land are not strong because it is easy to read the behavior of the monsters and plants.
Now I can understand why P.J. made his home in that cave.
The river was only a short jump away, and I could get to the other side.
We didn’t fight the monster we encountered in the forest; we just walked right through it and headed for the training facility.
As usual, the captain was hard at work in the fields.
When we waved to let him know we were coming, he immediately stopped what he was doing and came over to us.
“Hey, I thought you might be coming around now. I’ve got that stuff you were talking about the other day ready. This way.”
With that, the captain led us into the hut.
“I have also prepared some clothes and underwear for the woman.”
“Thank you.”
The captain began to lay out the things I had asked for on the table.
The clothes were mostly brown and looked like they would fit a village girl. The underwear was some kind of shorts that were tied with a string.
Cher, who was wearing a hood and mask, put them in her backpack.
“Do you have any women’s clothes that are a little bigger?”
I also asked Jennifer’s size, just in case. She said she would make them herself, so it’s not really necessary.
“Yes, I have. I didn’t know what size it was, so I got you some things. Take them.”
There were more clothes in the larger sizes.
“And this. They’re ship’s tools.”
There were long saws, planes, hoes (apparently called chona), hammers, rulers, and so on.
It seems that he had also prepared a bag to hold the tools, and I put the bag on the shoiko.
“I made the staff too, but can I exchange it for something?”
“Oh, that’s great. Actually, the staff you made last time sold for a good price, so there’s a demand for more.”
“I see.”
It seems that Jennifer was telling the truth.
“Yes. The magic stones you put in them are also rare because they’re from the demonic land. If you want to make a lot more in the future, I think it’s better to call a merchant from the city. What do you think?”
He’s a captain without greed. Is he being paid by the salary system?
However, I have no intention of becoming a staff maker.
“No, I don’t think I’ll make that many, so it’s okay. I’ll bring them regularly, so please take them.”
“I see, I understand. What else do you want?”
We still have plenty of flour and vegetables, and since we don’t drink alcohol or other luxuries to begin with, there’s no need for them. [T/n: He said he wanted alcohol before this, though].
Cher seems to want a good oven to bake bread, but we can make that ourselves. Jennifer didn’t ask for anything.
So this time, I decided to ask for the things I wanted.
“Do you have any books on magic circles for beginners? Or maybe a textbook on how to make magic tools would be good.”
“That sounds like something that would be very hard to get. Just a moment.”
With that, the captain left the hut.
“Magic circles?”
Cher asked from behind me when we were alone.
She wanted to know if I needed books on magic circles or textbooks on magic tools.
“Better to learn and master them properly than to explode like Arachne, right?”
When I said this, Cher seemed to agree, saying, “Yeah, that’s better.”
To be honest, I didn’t think this training facility would have books on magic circles or magic tools. If they did, it would be a bonus. If not, I planned to copy the magic circles on P.J.’s magic tools onto paper.
The captain returned, holding a book.
Did he find it?
“No, there’s no book on magic circles or magic tools, but there is a textbook for beginners. And there’s a magic circle drawn in it. Look.”
The captain showed me the book.
There was indeed a magic circle drawn in it, along with the effects of magic.
The magic circle was only drawn for basic magic, but it was still helpful to understand the system.
“Oh, then please exchange this for it.”
“Are you sure? With something like this?”
“Yes, it’s fine! Thank you!”
“Okay. I’ll count on you in the future.”
“I look forward to it.”
I shook the captain’s hand and left the hut.
“You should come back when the vegetables are ready. They should be done in a month. If you have any problems, just let us know. We’ll do what we can to help.”
“Oh, you know that party of adventurers that came by the other day?”
“Oh, yeah, those weirdos from the capital, right? They split up and went home, didn’t they? What about them?”
“The priest from that party ended up staying in the demonic land…”
“Oh, the girl who collapsed? She was popular with our members, but I understand. She went to the demonic land, huh…”
“We will send her away after a while, so she might cause you some trouble.”
“Oh, that’s okay, that’s okay. We often take care of adventurers who fail to go to the demonic land.”
“I’m sorry. Thank you.”
The friendly captain waved and sent us on our way.
We ran back to the cave, and I read the books. Somehow, I could understand the effects of P.J.’s magic weapons. I could tell that they had fire effects or water magic circles, but it was better than not understanding at all.
I ate the dinner Jennifer had made, took a bath, practiced magic control with Cher, and then read the book in bed. Jennifer’s food was not entirely inedible.
“You read a lot of books. Don’t you ever fight any monsters?”
Jennifer called out to me as I lay in bed.
“If you want to defeat them, go and defeat them. We all have different adventures.”
“That’s true.”
As Jennifer left, she thanked me and said, “Thank you for my clothes, too.”
“It was nothing.”
I just replied.
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And were those small white flowers with sleeping pollen at the start of the story also called Swamp Flowers then?
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