Thank you, as always, for reading.
I’ll be taking a break tomorrow and the day after due to a trip back home.
Best regards.
Today, I’m in Saul’s Forest, south of the capital.
It seems the Third Knight Order regularly subjugates monsters around the capital. Following their expedition to Gauche Forest in the west, they had plans to come here to Saul’s Forest too. Normally, there wouldn’t be a need for the knight order to go on subjugation missions this often, but in the last few years, the previous frequency hasn’t been enough to keep up, so they’ve been heading out one after another. Well, since the 【Saintess Summoning Ritual】 brought forth a Saintess, the situation is expected to gradually improve.
Good luck, Aira-chan.
So, this time, researchers from the Medicinal Plant Research Institute are tagging along on this expedition. The forest is home to all sorts of herbs that don’t grow in our herb garden, and we’re here to gather them. Normally researchers, nothing but a burden in the field, joining a knight order subjugation would be unthinkable, but as a thank-you for saving their captain the other day, we were allowed to come along. I’d planned to stay back at the institute, leisurely making potions, but since I’m the one who uses the most herbs, the director forced me to join.
“Hey, don’t wander off too far!”
I spotted the herb I was after a little off the path and bent down to pick it, only to get a warning from Jude behind me. I quickly grabbed the herb and returned to him, earning myself an extra scolding.
“Even if this forest is calmer than the western one, it’s not like monsters don’t show up. If you’re going to step away, at least say something first.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
It seems Saul’s Forest only has weaker monsters compared to the western forest, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely safe. I know I need to be careful, but I can’t shake my Japanese instincts. When I see something I want, I just end up drifting toward it without thinking.
“I’m keeping an eye out, so as long as you don’t stray too far, it’s fine.”
The captain’s voice came from behind us, accompanied by a soft chuckle. Right now, the knight order and researchers are split into three groups to operate more efficiently. Jude and I are in the captain’s group. Apparently, the captain doesn’t usually join missions to Saul’s Forest, but according to one of the knights, he’s here specifically because of us this time. Even though it’s meant as a thank you, I can’t help but feel a bit guilty about it.
“Thank you. By the way, it feels like we’ve come pretty deep into the forest, but we haven’t run into any monsters, have we?”
Exactly. I think it’s been about two hours since we entered the forest, and we haven’t encountered a single monster yet. Is this normal? When I asked the captain, it turns out it’s not.
“No, usually we’d have run into a few by now…”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s rare to go this long without seeing any.”
Saying that, the captain paused as if thinking, then started talking to the other knights. Hmm, I wonder if something’s up? I just hope a powerful monster like that salamander doesn’t suddenly pop out. With that thought in mind, I picked herbs along the path as we headed toward the rendezvous point with the other groups. There’s a small clearing in the forest where we’d meet up with them and have lunch.
“Delicious!”
At the lunch spot after regrouping, hearing “delicious” echoing all around made it feel worthwhile to have helped out. The knights had said they’d handle preparing lunch, but given how much I’ve been lamenting this world’s food situation, I couldn’t just sit by. The soup I made with herbs they don’t usually use seemed to be a big hit.
“I’d heard the Medicinal Plant Research Institute’s cafeteria was delicious, did you make this by any chance?”
“No, I just provided the recipes. The cook usually makes everything.”
“I’m jealous you get to eat food this good all the time.”
That was the captain speaking. After the morning’s subjugation or lack thereof, the knights and researchers had warmed up to each other a bit, sitting in little clusters as they pleased. The captain was sitting next to me, with the vice-captain on his other side, leaving me as the only researcher stuck in this group of bigwigs. Jude? I tried to drag him into it, but he slipped away. I’ll get him back later.
“This soup, you said you put various herbs in it, right? I feel warmer than usual. Are there herbs with that kind of effect?”
“Yeah, there are. The soup today has…”
I mostly talked with the captain, but other knights chimed in here and there mostly asking about the herbs I used in cooking and it turned into quite a lively discussion. It seems using herbs in cooking isn’t common in this world. They were especially hooked when I mentioned herbs that pair well with alcohol. They’d taste great in sausages, right? So, we bonded over food talk, then continued the subjugation in the afternoon before heading back to the palace by evening.
A week after the subjugation.
This past week has been a bit chaotic. There was a little commotion during the afternoon subjugation after lunch. My group still didn’t encounter any monsters, but the trouble happened with the groups that did. The knights in those groups noticed their physical abilities were better than usual. They realized it because they took down the monsters way too easily. When they started wondering what caused it, the first thing that came up was lunch. Unlike usual, the soup had herbs in it. Could the herbs be the reason?
To figure it out, we spent this week at the institute cooking under various conditions, eating, and investigating. We’re talking breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus late-night snacks eating all day long. Naturally, I couldn’t handle it alone, so we roped in the other researchers and even some Third Knight Order knights to help. The result? We found that eating certain dishes made by someone with the cooking skill boosts physical abilities. Apparently, most cafeteria cooks have this skill including ours at the institute, of course.
Status
Takanotsume Sei Lv.55 / Saintess
HP: 4,867/4,867
MP: 6,067/6,067
Combat Skills:
- Holy Attribute Magic: Lv.∞
Production Skills:
- Pharmacy: Lv.28
- Cooking: Lv.5
And somehow, I’d picked it up too. That seems to be why the knights’ physical abilities improved during that subjugation. Of course, it wasn’t just the knights, the researchers got the boost too, but since they don’t move around much, they didn’t notice. Truthfully, that wasn’t the only reason it got noticed. The fifty percent boost curse that kicks in when I make potions apparently applies here too. The effects of my cooking were stronger than the cafeteria cook’s, which made it obvious enough to stand out. Naturally, the director banned me from cooking in public from now on.