Chapter-06 · EP-095
Episode 95: Herb Field
Behind the waterfall, I had found a field of antidote herbs.
Lit by the light filtering in from outside the waterfall, the vast green carpet of antidote herbs sparkled mysteriously. They shone like jewels.
I was momentarily speechless.
Had a place like this existed here, unknown to anyone? Saito-san had protected it.
Looking at the abundance of antidote herbs, I discovered another of Saito-san's inscriptions on the cave wall.
"When harvesting antidote herbs, only take the new shoots. If you pull them out by the root, they won't regrow."
The same words as at the clearing.
So Saito-san had indeed reached this place. And to prevent the antidote herbs from being overharvested, he himself was careful, and he left this warning for those who came after.
I reached out to the antidote herbs at my feet.
They were the same as the image Meiris had shown me. Dark green leaves, serrated edges.
Following Saito-san's warning, I used scissors to cut only the tips of the herbs, the yellowish-green new shoots.
If you pull them out by the root, they won't regrow, but if you cut them partway, they should regrow.
…They will regrow, right?
I felt a little anxious. I shouldn't ruin the antidote herb field that Saito-san had protected without telling anyone.
Would they really regrow? If so, how long would it take?
Then I had an idea. I tried casting Healing Magic on the antidote herb.
"Heal."
Sparkling light from my palm showered down on the herb whose new shoot I had just cut. The cut part visibly regrew before my eyes.
So plants could be regenerated with Healing Magic too.
I had a feeling it might work, and when I tried, it actually did. This was a huge discovery.
That meant they regrow naturally over time, and they also regrow with Healing Magic. Since I could use Healing Magic as many times as I wanted, I could harvest antidote herbs endlessly!
…No, wait.
But antidote herbs wither and lose their effectiveness about a week after being harvested, so it wasn't as if I could make unlimited money.
Besides, this place was originally discovered by Saito-san. It wasn't a place I should exploit arbitrarily.
If so, it would be better to let Yamashita-san, who continues Saito-san's legacy, manage it.
I returned to the surface and headed to Yamashita-san's house.
As I approached, I heard him talking with someone.
"Father, I'll handle things from here!"
"Yes…"
The man who called him "Father" then got in a car and drove away. Probably his son.
I waited a moment, then called out.
"Yamashita-san."
"Ah, Ichinose-kun…"
Yamashita-san looked a bit tired.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but were you arguing with your son?"
"You saw something embarrassing."
Yamashita-san smiled wryly.
"The truth is, a big inn is going to be built nearby next year, and there's talk of using my house and factory as a parking lot. My son wants me to sell this place and live with him."
Living with his son should be a happy thing, but Yamashita-san looked a little lonely.
"You don't want to give up the factory?"
"Haha… even though I haven't produced anything for years."
Yamashita-san looked into the distance.
"The antidote I developed together with Saito-san is a product I'm proud of – it hardly expires at all, yet is still effective. Thinking of throwing away that technology makes me feel like all my hard work up to now was for nothing. I'm still attached to it. Even though the antidote herbs are gone…"
"Well, if there were antidote herbs, would you be able to continue making the antidote?"
"Of course, but…"
I took the antidote herb out of my backpack.
"That is!"
Yamashita-san's eyes widened.
"I found the antidote herb field, using the inscriptions Saito-san left as a clue."
"But if you found it, it belongs to you."
"No, it's a place Saito-san discovered. If so, it also belongs to you, who researched the antidote together with him."
"Ichinose-kun…"
Yamashita-san looked happy. But his expression soon darkened.
"Thank you, Ichinose-kun. I'm truly happy to hear you say that. But it's not possible."
Yamashita-san shook his head.
"The antidote herbs growing in the dungeon belong to whoever finds them. If we're careful not to overharvest them, someone who discovers them later will just take them. That's why the antidote herbs in the clearing disappeared."
He was probably talking about the clearing where the first inscription, "When harvesting antidote herbs, only take the new shoots," was found. There, the bare brown earth was visible; the herbs had been completely taken.
Yamashita-san and Saito-san had developed their antidote while being careful not to overharvest the herbs there, but then later explorers took them all.
It was true that the dungeon was currently unpopular, but if people knew antidote herbs could be found, they would swarm in. And when that happened, it was easy to see the herbs would be overharvested again.
"One last time, I'll make you as much antidote as you need. Then my work will be done."
Yamashita-san said.
But I desperately racked my brain for a solution. There must be some way. A way not to waste Saito-san's legacy.