Chapter 259 - Chapter 229: The Credibility of Rumors
Monday
"It's hot. It's already summer, huh…"
Natto mumbled that, looking out the window.
June was just around the corner. Today's high temperature was apparently going to exceed 28 degrees Celsius.
"Sorry I'm late."
"Oh, good work."
Iincho, who was on duty today, arrived a little late.
Mion… seemed to be looking at something on her tablet.
"Mion?"
"Mm."
She snapped the cover shut, and once everyone was seated, we said our thanks before eating.
The prepared bread from the cafeteria is surprisingly good.
"Oh right, Natto and Iincho, there's something I wanted to ask you two…"
Anyway, these two should know something about the alliance matter.
"Alliance? We formed one when the attack came during the previous World Quest, didn't we?"
"Did the Gnomes also join that one?"
"Yeah. They seemed eager to join."
So NPCs definitely move autonomously and are willing to cooperate, huh?
However, since they apparently weren't directly injured in combat with monsters, it remains unknown what happens when an NPC becomes incapacitated…
On Iincho's side,
"I know absolutely nothing about game mechanics like that. I just did what Yuki-san told me to."
"With those Winged Folk… well, I guess you wouldn't team up with them."
"Ah, that's right."
Iincho gave a wry smile, and Mion nodded repeatedly.
"The way you're asking about that… is it about the fairies, or something? Wait, that World Announcement about the Ancient Ruins administrator, that was you, wasn't it?"
"Ah, yeah. Well, a lot happened before that…"
Iincho severely warned me not to take the Fairies or Selkies to dangerous places…
*
"Thanks for the meal."
"Woof."
Club time. For the first time in a while (?), the Mountain Cabin meal was a stir-fry of Forebit meat, Lexon, Chagatake, and Hermit Bamboo Grass.
As expected, with salt and pepper, the umami is drastically different. It just makes me intensely crave white rice…
"Excuse me for intruding."
President Bell, having finished checking her live stream comments from yesterday, entered the studio.
Apparently, because they disbanded before midnight last night, there were many questions she couldn't ask.
"Lupi. I need to write a letter, so you can go play with Sweee."
"Woof."
Lupi enthusiastically ran off towards the forest.
Once I'm done with the letter, maybe I'll go for a short walk. I should check if the collapsed passage has been repaired. Oh, and I also need to appraise all the things I just picked up…
"First, I need to write and submit a report to Argenta-san."
"May I ask some questions?"
"It's fine. Mion will back me up."
"Leave it to me!"
I washed and put away the dishes, then returned to the Mountain Cabin.
Alright, I'll write down everything that happened yesterday in chronological order…
"Okay, first about Saturday's stream, you were using pepper, weren't you?"
"Yes. It was for fish, so I used white pepper."
Um, first, I went into the large cave behind the lighthouse and defeated a Venom Slime, right?
"But white pepper isn't seen on the mainland…"
"Huh?"
According to President Bell, only black pepper is used on the mainland. And apparently, all of it is imported from the Demon Kingdom.
Since the Kingdom is the furthest from the Demon Kingdom, pepper is apparently an extremely luxurious item…
"Hmm, I just found it normally on the south side of the island, you know. In IRO, it's called Leppelin."
"I wonder what latitude the south side of the island is at…"
"Camlus Fruit was found near the fishing village, right? So, if that's the case, then somewhere south of there?"
When I looked up how to make white pepper, I think I saw something about its real-world origin being India or similar places.
But this island is exclusively for one player, so it's likely that plants that wouldn't normally coexist… are here.
"So, even further south than Cleene, right?"
"Is there a village?"
"No, it's Undeveloped Land. On the map, it's…"
Mion and President Bell were probably talking while looking at the map on the official website. So, I quickly finished writing the letter while I had the chance.
We defeated a boss called Maroon Wraith and numerous Undead to reach the Data Room. That's where Sweee and the others found the ring, right?
"This definitely needs to be investigated."
"Are you going, President?"
"I'd like to prioritize the Mage's Tower, so it's a difficult decision…"
Yesterday, on Sunday's stream, Leona-sama also joined, further accelerating their capture efforts.
Apparently, they checked the remainder of the 11th floor and every corner of the 12th floor before entering the 13th…
"I got the [Applied Wind Magic Grimoire], and I'm wondering if there might be others as well."
"Oh, seriously? Congratulations."
"Congratulations! President, you got one too!"
"…Did Mion-san just say 'too'?"
Yes. She did.
"Um, there's a Data Room before that control room, and I got all the remaining Applied Magicology grimoires: Water, Fire, and Wind."
"I see…"
President Bell looked a little dejected.
Though I felt a little sorry for her,
"Well, whether I take them or not is a different matter. Using 12 SP for those three types is a bit…"
I have 23 SP remaining now, but some skills are about to naturally reach level 10, and considering higher-tier skills, I'm hesitant to take all of them.
I want to break the cap on Elemental Magic and get Spatial Magic, and I'm also curious about breaking the cap on production skills…
President Bell is a pure magic build, so she probably wants to get all magic skills as part of her identity, after all.
"Shou-kun, if it's the south side of the Kingdom…"
"Yeah. Natto and his friends are over there, so I think you can just leave it entirely to them."
"You're right. Even if pepper is found, I feel like we wouldn't have enough staff at the Silver Manor to handle it. I think I'll ask Yuki-san for confirmation before requesting it."
"Roger."
I'll send Natto a message after club activities.
"Alright, I'm done writing."
Well, I was going to send it right away, but maybe I should check if that passage is back to normal first?
"Aren't you sending it?"
"Ah, yeah. I thought it might be good to check if the collapsed area has been repaired."
"Ah, that's right."
Once decided, I'll quickly go and take a look.
Leaving the Mountain Cabin,
"Lupi~"
When I called, Lupi came running happily. Sweee, riding on her back, looked like she was in rodeo mode, but I wonder if she's alright…
"Woof!"
I squatted down to catch Lupi as she pounced, and Sweee limply clung to my left shoulder.
Motion sickness? She can fly normally, so I feel like she doesn't need to ride Lupi on purpose.
"Let's go for a little walk to the Observation Deck. Sweee, eat this and cheer up."
"Woof."
"~~~♪"
The Queen instantly became cheerful the moment she received the Greenberry Fruit.
Well, I don't really need to bring anything special, do I? I guess I'll make sure my equipment is in order, just in case.
"Continuing with the questions, okay?"
"Ah, go right ahead."
"You also got sugar, didn't you?"
"Yes, Bluegaris, which is basically sugar beet. Wait, is sugar actually expensive too?"
"No, sugar is readily available. What I want to know is how you noticed the plants that become pepper or sugar beet."
President Bell knows I don't look at forums, and she finds it unlikely that Mion would have heard about it and solved it that way.
Apparently, President Bell herself has never even seen actual Leppelin or Bluegaris.
"It's thanks to the Plant Encyclopedia, isn't it?"
"That's right, the encyclopedia left in the Mountain Cabin is excellent. Ah, and having an encyclopedia also allows you to acquire academic skills, so that might be involved too."
I can't help but feel that something in the background was at play when I found Leppelin (pepper).
I'll pass that on, just in case.
"Can't you view encyclopedias in the Kingdom?"
"You can see them at places like the Merchant Guild, but the viewing fee is high. Plus, from what I'm hearing, I wonder if they're inferior to the one Shou-kun has?"
"Ah…"
The encyclopedia I have is from the Ancient Magic Civilization, existing before the calamity.
If the ones President Bell and the others have are those created after the calamity, I feel like they'd be quite different.
"If you're looking for something similar to the encyclopedia I have, I guess your best bet would be the Mage's Tower or the Necropolis."
"You're right. But this has helped me understand a bit."
"Understand what?"
"There's a rumor that Shou-kun's island is close to end-game content. Of course, there would have been adjustments for the Uninhabited Island Start, though."
…