Kays Translations

Chapter 29: A Sign of Spring

When I showed the new games to Father and Mother, they loved them. More and more children had been asking to take part in horse racing and darts, which was becoming a problem, so educational games aimed at children were exactly what my parents had wanted.

My proposal was a godsend to them, and the games were commercialised almost immediately.

When I suggested making local-themed karuta and sugoroku as well, someone produced a horse-racing sugoroku. Apparently, it was selling briskly. People here really loved horse racing.

My pocket money kept increasing as a result, but to be honest, there was nothing I especially wanted to buy. It would have been nice if I could simply purchase magic-potion ingredients, but things weren’t that convenient.

Magic-potion ingredients could only be bought from specialist shops.

There were many magic pharmacists in the royal capital, so naturally there were specialist stores there. Grandmother, as a high-ranking magic pharmacist, could buy as much as she needed. I, however, had no qualification and couldn’t purchase anything.

That left me with only one option: gather the ingredients myself.

“Lionel, I would like to visit the Tradel River to gather materials.”

I found Lionel at the knight order’s barracks and immediately asked him about it.

“May I ask what you’re looking for?”

“I want the antlers of the river elk that live along the Tradel River. This is the season when they replace their old antlers, so some should have fallen.”

“Then why don’t we collect them for you?”

“I suspect the Adventurers’ Guild has issued a gathering commission for them as well.”

“I see. It wouldn’t be good for the knight order and the adventurers to quarrel over them.”

“Exactly.”

River-elk antlers sold for a high price and were an important source of income for adventurers. It would be unfair for the much larger knight order to sweep in and collect them all. That was another reason I wanted to go personally rather than order the knights to gather them.

“What will you use the river elk antlers for?”

“They’re ingredients for intermediate healing potions.”

“Then we must secure one at all costs.”

And so a trip to the Tradel River was arranged. Few monsters lived near the river, making the area comparatively safe.

A few days later, I went there with Gyre and Christopher as usual. The Tradel River flowed through the grain-producing lands near the territorial capital and was extremely important. If it ever dried up, the food situation in the entire territory would become dire.

“I’ve visited several times, but this truly is a beautiful river.”

“The river is fed by snowmelt from the Cassius Mountains, a place rich in spiritual power. Monsters don’t approach it either.”

Hm. Water that monsters avoided? Did it have some special property? Curious, I used Appraisal.

Cassius Water: Normal Quality.

So it wasn’t merely ordinary water after all. I decided to take some home in case it proved useful. That was an unexpected bonus.

“Could the water be used for anything?”

Lionel sounded interested.

“I don’t know. It may prove useful as an ingredient, but I won’t know until I experiment.”

Even saying that made me excited. This was a material that hadn’t existed in the game. Its possibilities were completely unknown.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what you discover.”

“Leave it to me. Come on, let’s walk along the river and search for antlers.”

And so our search for river-elk antlers began. We passed several adventurers along the way, probably after the same thing.

We greeted them casually, making it clear that we were merely out walking so no one would think the knight order had come to compete with them.

“They’re difficult to find.”

“Yes. River elk replace their antlers one at a time rather than shedding both together.”

“I see. That explains why the antlers are so valuable.”

We kept searching without success, although we did spot several river elk.

“Lord Julius, could we capture a river elk and cut off an antler?”

“That wouldn’t work, Gyre. When an antler is cut off by force, something seems to leak away from the cut, leaving it unusable as an ingredient.”

“What exactly leaks out?”

“I don’t know. That’s the strange part.”

For some unknown reason, forcibly cut antlers simply didn’t work as potion ingredients. Otherwise, river elk might have been hunted to extinction long ago. Perhaps this was one of the species’ ways of protecting itself.

Just as I started wondering whether we’d return empty-handed, one of the knights scouting ahead called out.

“Lord Julius! I found an antler!”

“Secure it carefully. I’ll be right there.”

Had we finally found one? After walking this far, I wanted at least a single antler to show for it. I hurried over and found a fine specimen lying on the ground.

“This is unquestionably a river elk antler. Well done.”

“We did it! Now we can return home.”

Gyre sounded delighted, as though he’d reached the limit of his endurance. Was it wise to say that with Lionel standing nearby?

“Gyre, how can such a short walk leave you in that state? Look at Lord Julius—he isn’t tired at all. You still need more training. When we return, you’ll run ten laps around the training grounds!”

Gyre’s eyes filled with tears at Lionel’s words. I understood how he felt, but he really needed to choose the time and place for remarks like that.

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