Chapter 815

Bear-san Goes Even Deeper into the Forest

“Can’t you get it anywhere else?” (Yuna)

“The moss that has been stuck to a monster for a long time is different from other moss. And even if that monster exists, you’d be cutting into its body when you defeat it. It will be covered in blood and mud, so it will be impossible to collect.” (Mane)

Ah, that makes sense.

If you slash it with a sword, blood would spurt out.

If you cast fire magic, the moss might burn, and if you cut it with wind magic, that’s basically the same as cutting it with a sword.

And if the monster moved around, mud would stick to it.

“And it’s not like that it has many uses, but it’s a problem if you don’t have it when you need it…” (Mane)

Mane-san looked at the gators.

“Alright, I’ll go and take them down quickly.” (Yuna)

“Yuna?” (Mane)

“I just need to kill it without hitting the moss, right?” (Yuna)

“Yeah, but that’s the hard part.” (Mane)

Well, I could manage.

“Mane-san, don’t stray too far from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.” (Yuna)

I headed towards the crocodiles by myself.

If I didn’t have my bear gear, I would have been too scared to go near them.

After all, I did felt relieved letting myself get bitten by something weaker since I found out that I wouldn’t even be affected by a Black Tiger’s bites.

As I approached the crocodiles, one of them turned towards me.

I couldn’t attack the moss on its back. Attacking from the outside wouldn’t work. So I had to attack from the inside as usual.

I was walking towards the crocodiles, thinking how to defeat them, when one of them opened its mouth wide.

“Yuna! Look out, it’s dangerous!” (Mane)

At the same time as Mane-san shouted, a ball of water was spat out of the crocodile’s mouth.

I quickly thrust forward my bear puppet and smashed the ball of water.

That’s right. It wasn’t a normal crocodile but a monster called a gator.

Since it looked like a crocodile, I never thought it would spit out water.

Once one gator spat out a ball of water, the others started spitting out balls of water as well.

The water that was spat out towards me was crushed by my bear puppet. The water balls that missed me left holes on the ground.

It seems to be quite powerful.

They might be as hard as a softball.

I ran while avoiding the water balls.

Electricity gathered around my black bear puppet.

I aimed for the gator’s wide-open mouth and fired an electric shock spell.

I fired electric attacks into the gator’s mouth in rapid fire.

Seeing their companions being defeated, the gators that were at a distance fled back into the lake.

I didn’t try to chase it.

There were about four gators lying on the edge of the lake.

“Yuna, are you okay?” (Mane)

Mane-san approached while riding Swaying Bear.

She was safe riding Swaying Bear, but attacks could still come from the lake.

“Mane-san, there are still gators in the lake, so don’t get too close.” (Yuna)

“Okay.” (Mane)

I stored the gator I defeated in the bear box.

Then, I moved a little away from the lake and took them back out.

“They’re really dead, right?” (Mane)

Mane-san asked while hiding on the back of Swaying Bear.

It seemed like she was a bit afraid of the gators.

I was scared the first time I saw a real monster in the game as well.

Getting used to it was also a scary thought.

“It’s okay. It’s dead.” (Yuna)

Mane-san picked up a branch from somewhere, stretched out her arm, and poked the gator’s body with it.

Watching her do that made me want to play a little prank.

I quietly went behind her.

And then…

“Waaa!” (Yuna)

“Kyaa!” (Mane)

Mane-san crouched down and hid behind Swaying Bear.

She moved quite faster than I expected.

Mane-san looked at the gator from behind Swaying Bear, then looked at me.

“Could that have been Yuna?” (Mane)

“Sorry. I just felt like doing it when I saw you.” (Yuna)

I apologized honestly.

“Yuna, don’t you know that there are things you can and can’t do, even as a joke?” (Mane)

Mane-san puffed out her cheeks and started to get angry.

“Sorry.” (Yuna)

“Also, I should point out that even adults are afraid of gators. So I’m not ashamed of what I did.” (Mane)

Mane-san was right.

Most people were afraid of crocodiles.

There may be a very small minority of people who liked reptiles or kept crocodiles as pets.

“And don’t scare me like that again. If you do it again, I’ll be angry.” (Mane)

She pointed the branch she was holding at me while saying that.

Not very adult-like behavior.

“I won’t do it again.” (Yuna)

“Please keep your promise.” (Mane)

Mane-san was older, so I should be careful.

Still, seeing the way she poked the gator with a branch as if she were scared of it was cute, and I felt like playing a prank on her.

After confirming that the gator was dead, Mane-san started collecting the moss that had stuck to the gator’s body with something like a spoon.

She put the collected moss into a bottle.

“Ugh… for the sake of medicine. Do your best, Mane.” (Mane)

She encouraged herself as she harvested.

“Shall I help you?” (Yuna)

“This is my job. And this is my selfishness. Yuna, please stand guard and carefully check our surroundings.” (Mane)

I kept a watchful eye on the surroundings so that Mane-san could work in peace.

The gators that fled into the lake might come back out.

I think I could defeat them by casting an electric shock spell on the lake. But if they sank to the bottom of the lake, retrieving them would be difficult. It was not impossible to retrieve it with magic, but it would be troublesome.

Also, casting an electric shock spell on the lake would kill every other creature as well.

Fish and other life could die, and if left alone, they might rot and cause a big problem.

So, if the gators didn’t attack again, we would leave them alone.

I waited for Mane-san to finish gathering the moss while keeping an eye on our surroundings with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

That said, my job was mostly just to monitor the detection skill.

After a while, she finished harvesting the moss.

“Good job.” (Yuna)

She looked satisfied with the harvest.

Mane-san seemed to be able to use water magic, and she washed her hands with the water she had created.

I put the gator away in the bear box.

I got a souvenir for Fina.

Was it crazy to give an 11-year-old girl a gator as a souvenir?

“So, which way do we go from here?” (Yuna)

“I heard they moved around the lake clockwise” (Mane)

So for now, we decided to walk around the lake clockwise.

“I found the next ribbon” (Yuna)

Now we could continue forward.

I checked the direction the nails were in and moved forward.

All was going well.

As I was thinking about this, Mane-san said something strange.

“Swaying Bear, you’re veering off course. Go straight.” (Mane)

“Kuun”

Mane-san gave instructions, but Swaying Bear shook his head.

“Yuna, Swaying Bear isn’t listening to me. If we keep going like this, we’ll go in the wrong direction.” (Mane)

I looked at the Bear Map skill.

We were moving straight ahead and not turning.

“Swaying Bear is moving straight” (Yuna)

“Really?” (Mane)

Mane-san looked around.

“No way.” (Mane)

“What’s wrong?” (Yuna)

“Yuna, just to confirm. Do you feel anything strange about the direction we were moving in?” (Mane)

I thought for a moment.

“I don’t feel anything. Does it feel strange, Mane-san?” (Yuna)

“I’m not sure yet. Swaying Bear, try going straight for a little bit.” (Mane)

“Kuun”

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started walking.

After walking for a while, Mane-san shook her head.

“As I thought, it’s no good” (Mane)

“Are you okay, Mane-san?” (Yuna)

“It’s okay. It’s just my inner voice telling me we’re going the wrong way.” (Mane)

“…?” (Yuna)

I didn’t understand what Mane-san was saying.

“It feels like Swaying Bear is walking to the right. I’ve experienced this before. Maybe there’s a Bewilderment Flower nearby.” (Mane)

“Bewilderment Flower?” (Yuna)

“It’s a flower that gives off a powder that leads people who enter the forest astray. The powder messes with your sense of direction.” (Mane)

A flower like that…

“If you get lost and wander, you’ll keep walking in circles, and gradually lose your strength. It’s a dangerous flower that can even cause death.” (Mane)

If you kept walking around in circles repeatedly, it was not just affecting you physically. It was also mentally draining, and there’s the risk of running out of food or even being attacked by monsters.

“Swaying Bear is heading straight. But for me, I feel like the way on the right is the way going straight. Sorry, Swaying Bear, but go left.” (Mane)

“Kuuuh”

Swaying Bear turned left and started walking.

“I feel weird. My brain is trying to go to the right. Are you okay Yuna?” (Mane)

“I’m okay. This hood will protect me.” (Yuna)

I think it was probably because of the bear hood that I was not affected.

Even a fairy’s sleeping powder had proven ineffective.

“So that bear costume wasn’t just cute” (Mane)

Mane-san conjured wind in her palms, and wind swirled around her, including Swaying Bear.

“It’s a way to deal with it. Magic of this level, I can at least manage.” (Mane)

Then, proceeding as Mane-san instructed, we came to a place where a lot of blue flowers were blooming all over the place.

“The Bewilderment Flowers” (Mane)

“This flower…” (Yuna)

It had four blue petals were open.

“Is it safe to approach?” (Yuna)

“The flower itself is not dangerous. It just confuses people.” (Mane)

“But the way it’s named is just like that.” (Yuna)

“It confuses monsters, animals, and people and keeps them from coming near it. That’s why adventurers called it the Bewilderment Flower.” (Mane)

Well, the simpler the name, the easier to remember.

“Yuna, can I harvest these flowers too?” (Mane)

“Sure. By the way, what kind of medicine does it make?” (Mane)

“They’re for motion sickness. Some people who ride horses or in carriages feel sick” (Mane)

“I see.” (Yuna)

Was it to cure the kind of sickness that makes you feel nauseous when you’re shaken around?

“It’s also effective for alcohol hangovers as well. Of course, there are substitutes, but medicine made from Bewilderment Flower is more effective” (Mane)

In other words, it was an advanced hangover medicine.

I didn’t need it because I didn’t ride carriages or drink alcohol.

Mane-san took out a basket from her item bag and began picking up the flowers.

There were really plants and flowers that had various effects.

To my ignorant self, they just look like weeds or pretty flowers.

Mane-san picked up a flowerpot and a small shovel and started digging up the Bewilderment Flowers.

She dug them up neatly and carefully replanted them in the flowerpot.

“You’re good at it” (Yuna)

“My job isn’t just to mix things up. It’s also to grow plants” (Mane)

“You don’t leave it to others, do you?” (Yuna)

“Sometimes I leave it to others. But some plants are difficult to grow, so there are some I can’t entrust to others.” (Mane)

I then recalled something.

In my summer observation diary in elementary school, I once grew morning glories.

It was a pain.

Even I was just a normal elementary school student back then.

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