Kays Translations

Chapter 17: Moryu Grass 0

Finally, the dungeon was closed.

For a while, I wouldn’t be able to scavenge in the junkyard to make money.

The junkyard, relatively safe, had mimics and puppet boxes. Since those appeared, it’s understandable that the dungeon would be closed.

But right now, I had some leeway.

If I cut back on my spending, I wouldn’t need to work for a while.

However, I wanted to work.

It seemed that, from my past life’s memories, I had a tendency to be a workaholic.

It’s a bit funny that this trait carried over into this world.

Still, if I can earn, I’ll earn. If I can move, I’ll move. That’s the truth of this world.

Doing nothing can wait until I’m dead.

So, I decided to take up work other than scavenging in the dungeon’s junkyard.

I had some connections.

—

The area around Hydrangea was surrounded by a dungeon and forests.

The forests were scattered and didn’t resemble a dense sea of trees.

To the north were mountains, and to the east was a valley. Beyond that, the Great Leeve River flowed.

Far upstream from there was Lake Love and the trade city of Heizen.

I left Hydrangea and headed southwest.

I arrived at the second largest forest in the area.

This forest was oddly dense with trees, making it dim even during the day.

Naturally, monsters also roamed here.

In fact, monsters of the middle and upper ranks of the copper tier lived here.

Somewhere deep in the forest, there were people living.

In the hollow of a large, twisted tree trunk, there was a brick house.

I rang the doorbell above the wooden door.

*Chime chime.*

The door slowly opened.

—

“Oh my, if it isn’t young Wof.”

A beautiful woman with large fox ears peeked out from the door, her ears twitching.

“Hello.”

“Come on in.”

She was a silver-haired fox beastwoman. She looked to be in her early twenties from her seductive appearance, though her real age was unclear.

She was a witch.

Also, speaking of witches, I wondered if they all had a specific dress code. She wore a plain black robe with a matching black dress, all in black.

But that wasn’t all.

Her neckline was daringly open, and her skirt was short, with three fluffy tails.

Just a slight bend, and it felt like I could see both her chest and the inside of her skirt.

I had to stop myself—this was a fox, after all. The nine-tailed fox… or maybe an Inari.

Actually, three tails reminded me of the nue. Those tails looked soft, but the *nue* was extremely dangerous.

The witch invited me inside.

Her house, as expected, was cluttered with all sorts of things.

Stacks of books that didn’t fit on the bookshelf.

Suspicious tools whose purpose I couldn’t guess.

A lot of wands spilling out from a holder.

For some reason, there were paintings, vases, statues, necklaces, and rings scattered around.

The only things relatively intact were the table and the sofa.

It was a junk house.

—

“Ah, my apologies. It’s not often we have guests.”

“No problem.”

I gently declined the tea the witch brought.

“Well, well, actually, I’ve been getting into herb tea recently.”

She placed a wooden cup on the table, which was smooth and thick, displaying fine craftsmanship.

I wrapped my fingers around the handle and lifted the cup.

Inside was a green liquid, which rippled, and something that looked like dorsal fins swam inside.

It was probably just my imagination.

—

“…By the way, do you have any work related to herb gathering?”

I placed the cup back without drinking it.

“Oh, I see. Could it be that the dungeon was closed again?”

“Yes, that’s the case.”

“Mm, that’s strange. Dungeon closures are rare.”

“They said it was due to an anomaly.”

“Yes, yes, that sounds like a monster. Probably an upper-grade silver tier.”

“We had monsters from both the lower and upper silver tier.”

“Really? What kind of monsters?”

“The lower-tier one was a white monkey with a white lion’s body and three tails.”

“Hoh, hoh. That’s a chimera. And an albino one, at that.”

—

It wasn’t a nue, after all.

“The upper-tier monster was a Puppet Box, hiding in the junkyard.”

“Oh my, a junkyard, you say? Did you encounter it by chance?”

“Yes, Agaro-san helped me.”

“I see, I see. Doom Sword, then. In that case, he should be able to handle the anomaly.”

“Agaro-san also defeated the Puppet Box.”

“Mm, mm. Doom Sword can even take down lower-grade gold-tier monsters solo.”

“Lower-ranked gold-tier…!?”

“Yes, yes. Dragons are considered lower-grade gold-tier monsters.”

As expected of a dragon slayer. I still feel like he’s hiding some of his true abilities.

“So, I’d like to take up work gathering herbs.”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. Actually, there’s something I need, just the thing for you. But it’s in a bit of a troublesome place.”

“Troublesome?”

“Yes, yes. Actually, there’s a goblin nest deep in this forest.”

“A goblin nest?”

“Yes, yes. And deep inside that nest, there’s a plant called Moryu Grass.”

“Moryu Grass?”

I was hearing it for the first time and looked confused.

I didn’t remember hearing about it before.

“Ah, you’re unfamiliar with it. It’s also called Moryu Flower. Actually, before it became a goblin nest, it used to be a Moryu colony. Moryu is a rare medicinal herb, and I’ve run out of stock, so I’ve been in trouble.”

“So, you want me to go and get it?”

“Yes, yes. I’m counting on you.”

The witch smiled warmly.

I gave her a flat look.

“So, that means I’ll have to enter the goblin nest, right?”

“Yes, yes. That’s the case.”

The witch continued smiling.

There was no doubt—she was subtly implying that I should go and exterminate them.

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