Chapter-06 · EP-094
Episode 94: Wild Vegetable Tempura
When I returned to the inn after my deadly struggle with the Grey Wolves, the innkeeper saw me and screamed.
…Because my clothes, already torn from the bites, were soaked in blood.
"The potion completely healed my injuries!"
I hid the fact that I could use Healing Magic and told her my injuries were healed.
It seemed I'd worried her.
I needed to change clothes before dinner.
After changing, I went to the dining room, and the innkeeper brought out the food.
"Today I used wild vegetables harvested locally. Wild vegetable tempura and a wild vegetable salad. Please eat plenty and get your strength back."
"Thank you."
She really did seem worried. But my injuries were already healed, and I was fine.
Thanking her, I picked up my chopsticks. The wild vegetable tempura was crispy, with a pleasantly bitter taste that spread through my mouth. I'd never eaten much wild vegetables before, but this was delicious.
As I ate, a question occurred to me. To use the antidote herb, did you just eat it as well?
I operated my smartwatch and asked Meiris.
'To use the antidote herb, you chew and ingest it. Note that the taste is very bitter.'
I see. The processed version Yamashita-san gave me was in gummy form, but originally you just chewed the raw herb.
By the way, the antidote herbs in this dungeon had apparently been overharvested to extinction. How did they grow? Could they be cultivated if you had seeds? When in doubt, I had to ask Meiris.
'Unlike ordinary plants, antidote herbs are like items found in dungeons. They do not multiply from seeds or regrow naturally. Like a gem lying on the ground, they exist in a state of having sprouted, and once harvested, they are gone.'
I see. So the antidote herbs in a dungeon are a finite resource. That explains why they disappeared from this dungeon.
Huh? But wait, I recall the inscription at the clearing said: "When harvesting antidote herbs, only take the new shoots. If you pull them out by the root, they won't regrow." I asked Meiris again.
'Indeed, it is said that if you cut only the new shoots of antidote herbs and medicinal herbs, they will regenerate and return to their original size. However, since the ownership of items in a dungeon belongs to whoever picks them up, even if you only cut the new shoots, the roots might be taken by someone else, so it's not a rational method.'
Ah, so that's why the antidote herbs there were all taken as well. In a first-come-first-served world, sustainable harvesting methods don't work.
After that, I asked Meiris various other things. I learned that if you take antidote herbs outside the dungeon, they deteriorate and wither in about a week. So you can't cultivate them outside either.
Yamashita-san's antidote production was innovative – he processed the herbs into an antidote before their effectiveness wore off, extending their shelf life. But he knew that this method couldn't be sustained unless you left the roots and only cut the new shoots. That's probably why he stopped making it.
I wanted to do something for him in return for the antidote, but it seemed there was nothing I could do.
Just then, the innkeeper came to clear the dishes.
"How was it?"
"Thank you, it was delicious. Especially the wild vegetable tempura."
"Right? Spring is the season for them, you know. Speaking of wild vegetables, there was a man named Saito-san who was a master at harvesting them…"
"Ah, Yamashita-san mentioned him. The master of harvesting antidote herbs, right?"
"Yes, that's him. Saito-san was an explorer, so he had incredible stamina. He would climb rock walls to harvest wild vegetables from high up."
"Huh. For Saito-san, harvesting wild vegetables and antidote herbs was probably similar."
"I suppose so."
The innkeeper cleared my dishes as she spoke.
Hearing the words "rock wall" made me think of the waterfall in the dungeon. That place also had a rock wall. Had Saito-san climbed that rock wall too?
As I pictured it, something clicked.
The inscription that said "Look at the back." Maybe it didn't mean "look at the back of the rock," but "climb the rock wall and look behind the waterfall."
And the inscription "Safety First." That might have been a warning for climbing the rock wall.
I put down my chopsticks and stared at my smartwatch. There was something behind the waterfall. Thinking that, it made sense why Saito-san had gone to the trouble of placing inscriptions all the way there.
Behind the waterfall – likely a hidden room. And perhaps there, antidote herbs still remained, untouched.
I stood up. I had to go check.
I was climbing the rock wall beside the waterfall.
Water splashing from the waterfall relentlessly soaked me. I was drenched in no time. The rock wall was wet in places, making handholds slippery.
Carefully, step by step, I climbed. This, too, was part of dungeon exploration. Combat with weapons isn't the only thing.
Reach out. Find a foothold. Shift weight. Repeat. Trying not to look down, I moved upward.
After climbing for a while, I reached a ledge wide enough to stand on.
Standing there and looking around, I saw that the path continued behind the waterfall. Looking down, I realized I was about three stories high.
It was a height that would be tough for someone with a fear of heights. I wasn't entirely comfortable either. My legs felt a bit shaky.
But I couldn't turn back now.
Keeping a hand on the wall to avoid slipping, I advanced carefully. The ledge was narrow, only about one foot wide. The rocks were wet from the spray, so every step was tense.
The roar of the waterfall was deafening. Amidst the thunderous noise, I slowly made my way behind the waterfall.
When I got behind the waterfall, the sound lessened slightly. In front of me was a hollow.
There was a cave in the rock wall. It was hidden by the waterfall, invisible from the outside.
This was it. The place Saito-san had wanted to leave.
I stepped into the cave. There… was a field of antidote herbs, like a green carpet spread out.
The antidote herbs sparkled fantastically in the light filtering in from outside.