Chapter 805

Bear-san Talking to Mane-san Part 2

“Even though that Lutum has a bad personality, he is still pretty strong.” (Mane)

Well, I guess it was hard to believe that a girl dressed in a bear suit could defeat the leader of the knights.

“It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Not long ago, the Adventurer’s Guild hosted a monster dismantling event. The cockatrice and wyvern used at that event were both monsters Yuna-chan personally defeated.” (Ellelaura)

Ellelaura-san told her my secrets one by one.

“Wait a minute. You’re saying she fought a cockatrice and a wyvern? And that she actually defeated them? That’s impossible…” (Mane)

“Well, honestly, I couldn’t believe it either when I first heard the story… but it’s Yuna-chan, after all.” (Ellelaura)

What do you mean by “It’s Yuna-chan”?

That was not some kind of magic phrase that could convince anyone, you know.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.” (Ellelaura)

For some reason, Ellelaura-san spoke proudly as if it was her own achievement.

“The cockatrice and wyvern materials were also shared with our division.” (Mane)

Really?

“But the materials from back then were collected by the Adventurer’s Guild.” (Yuna)

“Yes, but we are free to buy them. The castle also purchases valuable materials.” (Mane)

Adventurer’s Guild was certainly free to decide who they wanted to sell their materials to.

“Did you make something from those materials?” (Yuna)

“I made a quill pen from a cockatrice feather.” (Mane)

“A quill pen?” (Yuna)

When I asked, Mane-san stood up from her chair and headed to the desk in the back, where many books were piled up.

Then, just as I thought she was looking for something, I heard her saying “Found it” and she came back.

“Is this made out of cockatrice feathers?” (Yuna)

It looked like the same kind of feather that had been thrown at me by cockatrice during my fight with it.

“This quill pen still has a small amount of the cockatrice’s magic power.” (Mane)

Mane-san started writing something on the paper she brought back with her using the quill pen.

“… there is no trace of writing… ” (Yuna)

Mane-san was supposedly writing something on the paper, but the paper was still blank, as if the ink was not sticking to it.

Then Mane-san smiled. Suddenly, a red line appeared on the blank paper. Next, the red line changed color to green, then blue, and finally black.

“The color is changing.” (Yuna)

“The color changes when you change the amount of magic power you put in the ink. It’s interesting, isn’t it?” (Mane)

She said proudly.

Well… I had to admit, it was really amazing.

“Special ink is used for this too.” (Mane)

“What’s the point of using a cockatrice feather?” (Yuna)

“It’s because it makes channeling magic power easier. With a normal pen, magic power doesn’t flow well into the ink, making magic power difficult to control. It’s hard to fine-tune the magic output that way. But with a cockatrice feather, the magic power flows smoothly, and adjusting it is much simpler. Want to try?” (Mane)

Mane-san handed me the quill pen.

I accepted it and tried writing on the paper.

At first, I couldn’t see anything that I had written.

But when I put in a little magic power, red letters appeared on the paper.

Oh.

Moreover, when I increased the magic power, the color changed from light red to dark red.

If I added even more magic power, it turned green, then blue.

Finally, it became black.

“Amazing.” (Yuna)

When I expressed my admiration, Mane-san looked pleased.

“But… when would you use something like this?” (Yuna)

“I made this because I thought it could be used for contracts. If the ink color changes randomly while you’re writing, it would be difficult to imitate.” (Mane)

True. Compared to plain black writing, text in unpredictable colors would be far more difficult to forge.

Moreover, it had a random element added to the process.

“It’s indeed difficult to imitate. But it’s not practical to use in normal contracts.” (Ellelaura)

“Yeah, that’s why the idea was rejected.” (Mane)

Indeed, even I could understand why colorful ink wasn’t suited for legal documents.

“Thinking about it, the ingredients for the ink are expensive. It isn’t suited for mass production, so it can’t be sold. So, in the end, it’s just a failed experiment.” (Mane)

“I don’t think it’s a complete failure. There are things you can learn from failure also, and even if it’s a little expensive, artists might want something like this.” (Yuna)

I also didn’t think it could be used in contracts.

But there were surely other use cases for it.

“That’s right, Yuna-chan. In that case, why don’t you try using it in a picture book?” (Ellelaura)

“A picture book?” (Mane)

Mane-san asked.

“Yes, something like this.” (Ellelaura)

Out of nowhere, Ellelaura-san took out a copy of the picture book I drew.

Why did she have it? I swallowed my words, though I couldn’t help but wonder.

Mane-san took the picture book and flipped through it.

“You have even drawn a picture book about bears?” (Mane)

“Um, it was for Flora-sama.” (Yuna)

“Yuna-chan is an adventurer, a cook, and even a picture book author.” (Ellelaura)

I was not a cook, nor a picture book author. What’s more, I was not even sure if I could call myself an adventurer, since I tend to slack off whenever I could. I’d been traveling a lot lately, so being an adventurer might be the best word to describe what I do.

“That’s settled, then. I’ll give this pen to you.” (Mane)

Mane-san handed me the cockatrice quill pen.

“Are you sure?” (Yuna)

“Yes, I don’t have a use for it at the moment. If I ever find a use for it in the future, I can just make a new one. I already have the blueprints, the ingredients list, and the process written down and stored.” (Mane)

“If that’s the case, I’ll gladly accept it.” (Yuna)

I took the quill, feeling a little happiness.

“I’ll give you the ink as well.” (Mane)

Mane-san went to the desk piled with books again and brought out a vial of ink.

“It’s transparent.” (Yuna)

“Once you put magic power into it, it will change color.” (Mane)

After accepting the ink, I put the quill and the vial of ink into my bear box.

Then, back to the topic…

“So, is it really true that a small girl like you defeated a cockatrice and a wyvern?” (Mane)

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Sanya.” (Yuna)

Both Ellelaura-san and Sanya-san, the Adventurer’s Guild master, knew the truth.

Since Mane-san was a half-elf, it wouldn’t be strange if she had some connection to the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Really…” (Mane)

Mane-san looked at me, then at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear by my side.

“I believe Ellelaura’s words. Ellelaura wouldn’t make me do anything dangerous.” (Mane)

It seemed like she trusted Ellelaura-san.

Mane-san then looked at Ellelaura-san, then at me.

“Yuna, can you escort me? Of course, I’ll pay the escort fee.” (Mane)

“Before that, just how dangerous is the place you want to go?” (Yuna)

If it was a really dangerous place, I couldn’t accept this mission so easily.

If it was just me going there, it wasn’t a big deal.

But if I had to protect someone at the same time, it would be a different story.

“I’m looking for a certain material. I recently discovered that it can be found in a forest west of the royal capital. But it’s deep in the forest, which makes the journey very dangerous. I asked the Adventurer’s Guild for an escort, but they refused because they didn’t want to escort a child like me. It’s rude since I’m not a child.” (Mane)

I guess that couldn’t be helped, since she did look like a child.

“But that’s not the only reason. Even without me, venturing deep into that forest is risky. With me there, the burden would be even greater.” (Mane)

She wasn’t wrong. The difficulty rose sharply once you had to protect someone.

In the games, there was a common mission where players had to escort ordinary people, but how many times had my NPC companion died while I was busy fighting monsters? I could only say that it was too many times to count.

“In that case, why don’t you just have someone else collect the material for you instead?” (Yuna)

“The method of collecting that material is special, so I can’t leave it to others. I have to go and collect it myself.” (Mane)

“There are also similar looking materials in that forest, so there is a good chance that people looking for specific material might collect the wrong material.” (Ellelaura)

That made sense. Flowers especially could look nearly identical. Sometimes just an extra petal, or a slightly different leaf shape, was the only distinction.

Even if I was the one who was asked to gather that material, I was an amateur when it came to identifying materials and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between similar materials.

“So, when I couldn’t find an escort, I asked Ellelaura to request knights or magicians from the castle. But…” (Mane)

Mane-san looked at Ellelaura.

“I wasn’t granted permission.” (Ellelaura)

“Why not? Mane-san works here at the Ministry of Magic, doesn’t she? If she needs materials for her research, she should have been given permission.” (Yuna)

“Actually, I need that material for a personal matter. I can’t use the castle’s knights or magicians for personal matters.” (Mane)

“But, Ellelaura-san, you also sent the soldiers to fight the bandits…” (Yuna)

When I first came to the royal capital, she mobilized the knights to fight bandits.

“That was allowed because it was done for the safety of those heading to the royal capital. But the matter this time was Mane-sama’s personal matter.” (Ellelaura)

… Even so, I couldn’t help but think that they should at least provide some kind of escort. After all, if a citizen working for the castle went alone into a dangerous forest and got hurt, wouldn’t the castle face criticism for not helping?

“What is that personal matter? Is it really worth risking your life to gather that material?” (Yuna)

“That is…” (Mane)

Mane-san hesitated for a moment.

“Well, since you’re asking Yuna-chan to escort you, I think it’s fine to tell her.” (Ellelaura)

Mane-san looked at me while thinking about something.

“When I first saw you, I thought you were… strange.” (Yuna)

I looked at Mane-san again.

“Also I think you look too young.” (Yuna)

Even though she was a half-elf, she still looked too young.

I could clearly see physical growth and development in even Ruimin.

This matter was even stranger when you consider that Mane-san was around the same age as Sanya-san, an elf.

“There’s no way that half-elves simply don’t grow up… right?” (Yuna)

“Of course not.” (Mane)

That’s what I thought.

“There’s a reason why I haven’t grown up. My mother was a herbalist. During her studies, she met my father, an elf who knew a lot about plants. The two became close and I was born. My mother continued her research, and my father would bring home rare plants for her to study. I used to play in my mother’s lab from the time I was old enough to understand.” (Mane)

Her voice softened, as if recalling old memories.

“But then… at some point, I realized that something was wrong. The other children show physical changes, but I stayed the same, and my growth completely halted. At first my parents didn’t mind, but when they saw that my form never changed as the years passed, they also started to feel that it was strange, even for a half-elf. So they looked into it. It was then that they realized that when I was little, I had a habit of putting everything in my mouth. So, my mother thought maybe I’d eaten some of the herbs in her lab, and that one of those herbs had affected my growth.” (Mane)

“What?” (Yuna)

“There’s something unusual about the magic in my body. But I never learned what caused it. I don’t remember which herbs I ate, how much, or in what combination. I was too young to know. Frankly… I can’t remember anything clearly.” (Mane)

It was to be expected, even if you ask me what I ate a year ago, I wouldn’t remember.

The same could be said if you asked me about the amount I consumed or the order I consumed them.

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