Chapter 87: Shell Cleaning and Behemoth Dung
After hearing Raphiel, I stepped outside—and froze at the unbelievable sight.
“What in the world is this!?”
More than a dozen Behemoths had formed an orderly line stretching back toward the forest.
Each one was over ten meters long. If so many enormous creatures marched together, it was no wonder the ground shook.
At the head of the line stood a Behemoth without any Golden Dragon Mash growing on its shell.
It was probably the one Hinoka and I had encountered.
“Kyurororororo…”
The Behemoth made a low, rumbling call.
Naturally, none of us understood what it was saying.
None of us except one person.
“Mm… It seems… they want us… to remove the mushrooms… from their companions’ backs…”
“You understand Behemoth speech, Ryu?”
“Mm… I don’t understand… the words… But I understand… the intention carried in their voices…”
“I… see?”
I wasn’t sure I understood the distinction, but the important part was that she could interpret them.
“The mushrooms… prevent the rulers of the earth… from growing…”
The rulers of the earth must have meant the Behemoths.
Apparently, the Golden Dragon Mash drained nutrients from their bodies.
“I see. So the Golden Dragon Mash is rather like a barnacle.”
“Right. I remember seeing that on a marine-life program.”
I had once watched footage of a whale covered in barnacles approaching a human boat so the crew could remove them.
Even so…
“Aren’t there too many?”
Golden Dragon Mash covered the Behemoths’ shells from end to end.
Each Behemoth was over ten meters long.
The work would take me days on my own.
On my own, that was.
“Eight-nii! I want to pick mushrooms too!”
“No fair if Luka gets to! I want to do it too!”
“T-The turtles look like they’re suffering, so I’ll help too!”
“Father! Amate will help!”
Luka, Nor, Rio, and Amate all volunteered.
This time, we had even more help.
“Eight-nii, Mea will do it too!”
Led by Mea, the children from the orphanage offered to join us.
For some reason, Mea and Rio exchanged smiling looks that sent a brief chill down my spine, but I appreciated their help.
Then further reinforcements arrived.
“Wh-What are these huge things!? What’s going on!?”
“Rorondo!”
The A-Rank adventurer had arrived late, accompanied by several fully armed companions.
They had heard that Behemoths were approaching the village and come prepared to fight.
“Perfect timing. We’re about to harvest Golden Dragon Mash, so please help us.”
“…What?”
I explained the situation and asked him to gather even more adventurers.
The Village Chief summoned the villagers as well. Before I knew it, everyone in Papel Village was participating in the mushroom harvest.
“Kyurororororo…”
The Behemoths lowered themselves to the ground.
They were probably inviting us to climb freely onto their shells and remove the Golden Dragon Mash.
Everyone chose a Behemoth, climbed aboard, and set to work.
“Eight-nii, look! This mushroom is as big as a tree!”
“You’re right. It must be five meters tall.”
From a certain angle, it truly looked like a tree growing on the Behemoth’s back.
The largest Golden Dragon Mash was too dangerous for children to pull up alone, so the adults joined them.
“Kyurororororo…”
The Behemoths seemed to enjoy having the irritating growths removed. Soon, they were dozing peacefully.
…They were rather cute.
When I was little, I had raised a turtle in the pond on the mountain behind our house.
“I wonder if Urashima is doing well…”
“…Eight, why did you suddenly mention a folktale?”
“Urashima was the name of my pet turtle.”
They said turtles lived for ten thousand years. Perhaps he was still healthy even now.
“Look! I picked a huge mushroom!”
“Amazing, Amate-oneechan!”
“Hehe.”
Amate and Mea had already become friends, and both looked delighted.
I had worried that the orphanage children might struggle to fit into Papel Village, but it seemed I could relax.
…That aside—
“Amate.”
“What is it, Father?”
“…Nothing. I’m glad you found such a fine Golden Dragon Mash.”
“Yes! Amate is very happy!”
I wanted to kill the part of myself that entertained an impure thought, even for a moment, when Amate hugged the huge golden mushroom against her chest.
The Village Chief spoke up.
“Eight, what do you intend to do with so much Golden Dragon Mash?”
“…I haven’t decided.”
“If you have no use for it, might you give it to me?”
“I don’t mind. What will you do with it?”
“Dry it and sell dried Golden Dragon Mash to the nobles in the royal capital.”
Ah. Like dried shiitake mushrooms.
Finding so much had numbed me to its value, but the Golden Dragon Mash was still a legendary mushroom.
Selling it to nobles would surely bring an enormous profit.
“With that money, I shall build a direct road between the royal capital and Papel Village! Then the number of tourists will explode!”
Even after turning into a mountain of muscle, the Village Chief was still thinking about the village’s development. How very like him.
Once we had removed every mushroom, the Behemoths all rose together.
“Kyurororororo…”
“Hm? What are they doing?”
The Behemoths turned their backs to us and stopped.
I watched, puzzled.
Then something began emerging from beneath each tail.
No. Surely not!?
“Wait! Don’t—”
I realized what they were about to do and desperately tried to stop them.
Too late.
Plop! Plop-plop!
With that dreadful series of sounds, the Behemoths relieved themselves.
Not one, but every single creature began defecating in front of my restaurant.
It was a vision of hell.
Those damned turtles! They had the nerve to poop right in front of my shop!
“Kyurororororo…”
With their shells and stomachs both relieved, the Behemoths marched contentedly back toward the forest, shaking the ground as they went.
All they left behind was an enormous heap of Golden Dragon Mash—and an equally enormous heap of dung.
“Those turtles repaid kindness with cruelty.”
I hadn’t been this angry since my arm was cut off and my precious knife was snapped in half.
If they returned, I would find a way to bring one down and turn it into hot pot.
As I silently swore revenge, Raphiel poked a pile of Behemoth dung with a stick.
“…No. This may be their way of thanking us.”
“How!? They lined up and pooped one by one in front of my house!”
“Look carefully at the dung.”
“You want me to look closely at it!?”
I was hardly convinced, but Raphiel was serious, so I forced myself to inspect it.
Something glittered inside.
“What’s that?”
“Orichalcum, mithril, and adamantite, I believe.”
“What?”
I didn’t know how rare mithril or adamantite was, but even Raphiel found orichalcum extremely difficult to obtain.