Chapter 40: Organizing the Archives

Early the next morning, Ren headed to the Adventurer’s Guild archives.

“Good morning!”

When he entered the archives and greeted, the elderly guild staff member Jade, who was sitting by the window, raised one hand while holding a quill pen. He was holding a board in his other hand. It seemed Jade wrote some of the materials in the guild archives.

(I wonder if there are any new materials in the beginner’s corner…)

Ren headed to a corner of the archives. In front of the shelf where beginner-oriented materials were gathered.

As expected, there were several unfamiliar boards on the shelf.

“Oh, what’s this?”

▪️ Beware of Monster Bee Nests

From early spring, monster bees begin building nests. If you see one, don’t approach it recklessly.

If you do see a nest, it’s good to report the location to the guild. The first person to report may receive an information fee.

▪️ Treatment for Monster Bee Stings

If stung, retreat immediately.

Keep your posture low while retreating, squeeze the wound as if wringing it out, and wash it with water.

If you consult with the guild, they can direct you to a clinic.

“Monster bees… Honey…”

Ren imagined a viscous, golden-colored liquid. He imagined spreading sweet honey on bread and eating it.

“…I want to eat honey… I wonder if there’s anything written about how to take the nest…”

He looked at the next material, but it had nothing to do with honey.

▪️ Beware of Great Boars

In early spring, be careful as ferocious demon beasts appear even in shallow areas of the forest.

Especially with Great Boars, several adventurers are injured every year.

If you see one, hide so as not to enter the Great Boar’s line of sight. When fleeing, don’t run straight, but zigzag.

▪️ Wild Healberry

White flowers bloom in early spring, and small fruits cluster together to form a fruit about the size of an adult’s fist. It has healing components so it has value as a medicinal herb, but it’s also popular as food. It tastes sweet and sour when eaten.

When bringing them back, be careful as the fruits are easily crushed.

“Wow, Wild Healberry sounds delicious… About the size of an adult’s fist… Seems like it would be satisfying to eat.”

Ren tried making a fist himself. When he imagined a sweet and sour fruit about twice that size, saliva welled up in his mouth.

“If I find one, I’d like to try it…”

Muttering this, he tilted the board and glanced at its side. It seemed to have been roughly cut out, as the side of the board was jagged and frayed.

Ren turned back toward Jade.

“Can I mark the new boards?”

“Yeah! As long as you don’t dirty or break them.”

Jade answered without looking up, writing something on a board. Ren nodded, “Alright.”

He immediately used his knife to shave off the frayed parts on the side of the board. He tried to make it as smooth as possible. After lightly stroking it with his finger to check how it was shaved, he took out one of the boards lined up on the shelf and stacked them together.

“…Wild Healberry should be ‘Medicinal Herb,’ right? Though I feel like eating it more than using it as medicine.”

He carved a diagonal groove from upper left to lower right with his knife on the upper part of the board’s side. After marking the spot so that when stacked, the grooves would align, he carved the groove with a scraping motion.

“Medicinal Herb” is upper. “Monster Beast” is middle. “Other” is lower.

He separated the positions for carving grooves by category. After finishing carving the grooves, he pulled out a board with a red string attached that was lined up at the edge of the top shelf.

“Let’s see, Medicinal Herb number twenty-four. Wild Healberry.”

Muttering this, he used the quill pen he had to write on the board with the red string.

After finishing writing, he carved two horizontal grooves at the bottom of the board describing the Wild Healberry, and four small, regular notches with his knife.

Standing up, he arranged them on the top shelf. He rearranged any boards whose groove patterns didn’t match among those already lined up.

Arranged so that diagonal grooves were at the top, and horizontal lines and small notches increased toward the right at the bottom.

He also fixed the positions of boards on the middle shelf while he was at it. Some boards without grooves were mixed in, so he took them out and checked their contents.

He proceeded with the work of writing the numbered contents on boards with red strings and carving grooves.

“Haa…”

Looking at the boards neatly arranged by groove position from the top to bottom shelves, Ren let out a light breath and nodded in satisfaction.