Kikori no Isekai Tan - Chapter 7

Beyond the gate was a prairie.

Or rather, it might have once been a forest.

The forest, likely cleared for defensive purposes, stretched out ahead.

And the most distinctive thing about it was…

“There are all sorts of plants growing here…”

Kikori couldn’t even tell if they were weeds or something else, but he could see various types of plants growing there.

However, he didn’t know if he could sell them even if he picked them at random.

More than anything, he didn’t want to be seen as “someone who does unnecessary things and causes trouble”.

“Nibe herbs, Nibe herbs… it’s not here.”

He searched and searched, but still couldn’t find any Nibe herbs.

“This is strange. This is supposed to be a beginner’s quest, so why isn’t there any…”

“What are you doing, looking for Nibe herbs?”

“Whoa!?”

Kikori jumped in surprise when someone suddenly spoke to him.

It turned out to be a male adventurer, who laughed at Kikori’s reaction.

“You got surprised too easily. So, you’re a newbie, huh? Because you’re looking at a place like this for Nibe herbs.”

“Y-yeah, I guess.”

“You won’t find any here. This area is where everyone starts looking, so it’s usually all picked clean.”

“Eh…”

“Even in the contaminated area, medicinal herbs grow quite frequently, but you understand, right? Anything that grows gets yanked out pretty quickly.”

Indeed, it made sense upon reflection. Kikori wasn’t the only adventurer around.

Of course, any herbs in relatively safe areas would be taken by someone.

“So, are you saying I should give up on collecting Nibe herbs?”

“Not necessarily. If you go deeper, you’ll find that hunting monsters yields better profits. In other words, even if someone finds Nibe herbs, they’ll ignore it.”

“That sounds…”

“Yeah, dangerous. But hey, living comes with risks.”

“Well then..,” after saying that, the adventurer walked away.

Watching him disappear into the forest, Kikori lowered his axe from his back.

“That’s right. I… was still too naive.”

Despite deciding to live as an adventurer, he hadn’t been ready to take risks.

He had to venture further in.

Now he understood. The reason the herb collecting paper was printed so widely… was to teach this harsh reality.

That an adventurer who couldn’t even defeat a goblin was worthless. That they wouldn’t survive anyway.

It was meant to convey that message.

“I’ll do it. To survive… I’ll kill those goblins.”

With his axe ready, he entered the forest.

This was the moment he resolved himself… and also the moment Kikori wagered his life.