Unparalleled

“……”

“Scott, what’s the matter?”

“Oh, I was just fascinated by what the kids were picking, Duskweed.”

“Eh, Duskweed!? Even I know that one! Isn’t that a kind of a rare herb!?”

“Exactly that.”

Scott-san looked on in amazement and Evan-san stared in disbelief at the children who had found and were picking the rare herb.

“Onii~chan!”

“Over there, over there!”

“”There is a shining one~””

“Eh, a Brightweed? You found something amazing again~”

“”……”

Brightweed is also a rare herb. I’m sure it’s not something that can be found easily, but it can’t resist my kids!

And then Evan-san and Scott-san fell silent.

“”Ah! That!””

Allen and Elena were the first to discover the Jumbo Elk that was the object of the next request.

“Oh, it’s the Jumbo Elk.”

“Evan, we need the antlers and hide to complete the request so make sure not to scratch it.”

“I know.——Uh, oi!?”

While Evan-san and Scott-san were carefully discussing the matter, Allen and Elena were running towards it.

“Oi, wait a moment!”

“”Yah~””

Evan-san chased after the children in panic.

“Leave that one for me!”

“”Eh~~~””

“I beg you.”

“”Muu.””

Evan-san earnestly pleaded with the twins. While running.

“I will play with you later! Okay?”

“”N~ alright.””

Allen and Elena stopped running and halted in place.

It appears that they yielded the prey for playtime.

“Haaah—!”

Evan-san drew his greatsword while sprinting towards the Jumbo Elk. And then, when he swung it, the elk’s head cleanly fell to the ground. In a single slash.

“”Ohh~””

“Amazing!”

What a splendid attack that targeted the weak spot precisely.

“Good work, Evan.”

“Alright, two of our requests are completed with this.”

“It was quite incredible how you targeted the neck with that great sword.”

“Well, that’s thanks to practice and experience.”

Practice and experience, huh~ Well, those are important points, after all.

“Then, I will promptly dismantle it, so wait for a moment.”

As Evan-san began to dismantle the Jumbo Ek, Allen and Elena approached and observed nearby.

“Scott-san, what do we do now? Do we move to the coast as planned?”

“Let’s see~ There’s no need to hurry, so why don’t we go to the place where Luminescent Mushrooms can be harvested as planned? How about it?”

“I’m fine with that.——Allen, Elena, we will continue on the mountain, are you fine with that?”

“”Fine with it~””

“Evan, you don’t mind it either, right?”

“Oh~”

The children and Evan agreed, so after the dismantling of the Jumbo Elk, we proceeded further into the forest.

“”Nniyu?””

Then Allen and Elena seemed to have found something again and suddenly plunged deeper into the bushes.

“I wonder what they found this time.”

“I don’t feel any monster presence, so probably a herb?”

Evan and Scott started to guess what the kids had found. They were getting used to the children’s behavior.

Scott-san was right, there were no signs of monsters in the vicinity, so I decided to wait and not chase after them.

“”Look, look! It’s shining~”

“””!!”””

A few moments later, the kids came back, and I, Evan-san, and Scott-san were amazed at what they were holding.

“W, wait a minute! T, that’s Crystal Elk’s antlers!?”

“W, where did you get that!?”

“”Received~””

“”Hah!?”

I’m curious about the antlers too, but there’s something I have to confirm before that.

“Allen, Elena, you came across a Crystal Elk? Since you have received it, that means you didn’t hunt it down or hurt it, right?”

“”Didn’t~””

“I see, that’s good. You mustn’t hurt the Crystal Elk no matter what, okay?”

“”Okay, got it~””

The Crystal Elk is a pure white deer with crystal-like antlers. The antlers can be used to make medicine, and for a time, they were overhunted and threatened with extinction.

The medicine made from them is for physical deficiencies in the body… it’s a magic potion that enables regrowth of body parts, and the material is irreplaceable. This is why killing or hurting the Crystal Elk is banned nationwide. The antlers grow back periodically, so they don’t have to be killed to obtain them. Preservation of the species takes priority.

So, although the Crystal Elk is a monster, it is categorized as a sacred beast. There are also unicorns that have horns with purifying effects.

“”Onii~chan, here!””

Allen and Elena presented me with the crystal antlers they were holding in their hands.

“This is something that would definitely cause a stir if sold, right?”

“Of course!?”

“Yes, selling it to the Guild would also be a problem.”

I thought so. If I need to sell it, then it would be better to sell it to the country… Tristan-sama. Or rather, it’s a desirable item, so I could sell it in the Capital, when we go back for Wald-sama’s wedding.

“Then, I will take it upon myself to sell it and then I will give you the half when it’s done.”

“”Nonono!””

“What are you saying, Tak.u.mi?”

“That’s right. Why do we have to receive a part of the fee!?

“I mean, we are supposed to sell what we get during the request and split the total amount, right?

“”t’s a cooperative effort. You can’t count the monsters, herbs, and pastel rabbits that the kids killed on their own. If you include them in your account, we’ll have nothing to show for it.

“”Nonono!””

“What are you doing, Tak.u.mi?”

“Right. why do we have to receive remuneration for that!?”

“No, but we are supposed to sell what we get during the request and split the total amount, right?”

This is what Scott-san explained to me after he gave me a weapons course. He said that basically, you have to sell the monsters and herbs that you defeat along the way and divide the total amount along with the reward.

“This is cooperation. You can’t count the monster, herbs, and Pastel Rabbits that the kids defeated. If you do, we won’t be able to look straight. “

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Eh~ wasn’t it you who taught me that we should fundamentally decide on the rates beforehand, Scott-san? We have decided to split it 50-50, but you are going to change that?”

It was originally to prevent us from trying to increase our own rewards, is what Scott-san was saying and it’s not bad for us, so I don’t need to argue with him…I kind of argued with him, though.

“You said ‘fundamentally’! This is not something fundamental!”

“Ehh~”

“Tak.u.mi-san, you are totally having fun on your own, right?”

“Eh, did I get exposed just now?

While I was happily talking with Scott-san, Allen and Elena tugged at the hem of my shirt.

“”Hey, hey ,Onii~chan.””

“What is it?”

“”That~””

“N?——A Crystal Elk!?”

Before I knew it, there was a Crystal Elk in the direction Allen and Elena were pointing.