Chapter 124.1


    As I left the forest, Quince and the others came running toward me.


    “We gathered a lot!”


    Saying that, they proudly disyed the fruits of their efforts.


    Their leather bags were filled not only with General Grass but also with various wild nts.


    On thiste autumn day, we had taken a break from making magical tools and cksmithing to collect materials and go mushroom hunting.


    Though Quince and the others usually trained in the backyard, they rarely asked toe along when I said I was heading to the forest. Since it was just a casual outing, I allowed them to join on the condition that they not enter the forest. I entrusted their safety to Rooflord and while I wandered the forest’s outskirts, Quince and the others busied themselves collecting General Grass in the meadows.


    Taking a quick nce at their bags, I noticed quite a few useless nts mixed in.


    They had been learning about materials not only from Lily but also from Elphimia and L, though their results were still a bit hit-or-miss.


    Once home, we sorted and processed the gathered nts.Quince and the others began drying the General Grass in their usual room, while I took the mushrooms and wild vegetables to the kitchen to start cooking, albeit in a rough way.


    “I’m back!”


    A littleter, the adventurer team, led by Ted, arrived.


    When I peeked out of the kitchen, Ted and Gemma were carrying a boar split vertically, while Elliot and Nils carried a pole with a deer dangling from it.


    The butchering seemed to beplete, with only chunks of meat remaining.


    “Hunting today, huh?”


    “No, we were escorting Lady L. The game was just a bonus.”


    “Where’s L?”


    “We dropped her off. She said she’d start processing materials right away.”


    With that, Ted and the others carried the meat into the kitchen.


    In addition to making potions, L also helped with the preparation of Tejiryl Grass, the main ingredient for Awakening Water. Some days were so busy that she rushed home the moment her lectures ended.


    Her [Mixing] skill had grown to Rank 2 by now. However, despite her constant work on mixing at her family’s business, her progress hade to a halt.


    Though sheughed it off, saying, “This is as far as I can go,” reaching [Mixing 2] meant that, even if potion quality wasn’t exceptional, the chance of failure was greatly reduced. It could be said that she had achieved her goal in joining the academy.


    Initially, I nned to make a stew with mushrooms and wild vegetables, but at Ted’s suggestion, we decided to throw in chunks of boar and deer meat as well.


    Since Nails and Nils offered to help, we prepared some meat as skewers, and any leftovers would be shared with the neighbors by Ted and the others.


    This sharing wasn’t my idea.


    They started doing it after hearing about it from Deyna.


    She mentioned, “The backyard training is annoying the neighbors,” though the real trigger was likely Emily’s father.


    Having good rtions with the neighbors means they can lend a hand when needed or at least provide useful information.


    Soon after, Ted and the others returned, apanied by Lily and Deyna.


    The two had met by chance on the main street and joined up with Ted’s group during their meat delivery.


    Leaving the cooking to the two skilled women, I switched to helping with the skewers.


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    “But still, that strike was amazing…”


    Nils mumbled between bites of a skewer, speaking to no one in particr.


    When I tilted my head in confusion, Elliot filled in the details.


    “It was Talvitt-san.”


    “That guy, huh? So he joined today too.”


    Since meeting Ted’s group, Talvitt had asionally apanied them on quests.


    “What exactly was so amazing?”


    “He cleaved a boar in two. Looked like he used a skill.”


    Ted spoke as he fished out remnants from the stew.


    I thought the cross-section looked crushed—must’ve been a two-handed sword.


    “Is that guy interested in bing an adventurer?”


    “Not sure. He never talks about it.”


    Ted shook his head and popped another piece of meat into his mouth.


    If he doesn’t even talk about it, his real goal must be joining the guard unit.


    It makes sense—he’s probably at the academy to support his grandfather, the captain of the guard unit. While lower ranks might not require it, those aiming higher need a basic education.


    By joining these quests, he’s likely making up for what he misses in lectures and gaining real-world experience.


    Following that thread, Quince and Kyle started pestering Ted to talk about today’s quest.


    Ted, as usual, began with, “It was nothing special,” and recounted their activities—collecting materials, fighting familiar monsters, and marveling at Talvitt’s strength once again.


    When he finished, Ted suddenly seemed to remember something and began rummaging through his pockets.


    “I found a small magic stone.”


    He tossed it across the table toward me.


    It appeared to be a goblin’s magic stone.


    “Much appreciated. I’ll settle the paymentter.”


    “Consider it for the meal.”


    “The meat was your game.”


    “Yeah, but not the rest. Goblin stones are cheap anyway, so don’t worry about it.”


    I smiled wryly. “Then I’ll ept it without hesitation.”


    To think Ted would say such a thing.


    He may only be E-rank, but still.


    They had also sold materials like fur at L’s family business, Breos Trading Company, or at the limedy’s store. Ted proudly mentioned they were making a little cash beyond just potion sales.


    In addition, the guild’s contributions had be more bnced after Lanaine joined.


    Nils and Jonas, who joinedter, struggled to advance to E-rank. Seeing that, L discussed it with the group and decided to start officially handling escort requests through the guild.


    Though there were fees, it allowed both of them to get promoted.


    “By the way—”


    Just as Ted finished speaking, Lily suddenly raised a topic.


    She turned her gaze toward me, prompting me to stop sipping my General Tea and respond with a questioning look.


    “Alter-sama, I have a question. Does the soil created with One Handful of Soil – Handy Soil disappear over time?”


    “No, it shouldn’t. Wait… did it disappear?”


    Tilting her head slightly, Lily gave a small nod.


    That’s strange.


    I’ve generated a significant amount of water and soil before, and not once have I seen or heard of them vanishing.


    When I asked for more details, Lily exined that she didn’t witness the disappearance firsthand.


    She had generated soil in a pot using Handy Soil, but when she checkedter, some of it was gone.


    At first, she thought it was a mistake, but it happened more than once.


    If she didn’t see it vanish, could it have been stolen?


    But who would steal soil?


    Maybe someone was growing nts in a dormitory garden?


    There are plenty of students who can use Handy Soil, so why steal it from the garden?


    Unless… it was stolen because Lily created it?


    I crossed my arms, thinking it over, and turned toward Jonas.


    “Give it back, Jonas.”


    “Wha—?! Even you, Alter-sama? I’d never steal soil that Lily worked so hard to create! And besides, I already got mine ages ago!”


    He raised the small pouch hanging from his neck, only for Elliot to smack him on the head.


    Jonas was then forced to bow and awkwardly return the pouch to Lily.


    Not that she’d know what to do with it.


    In any case, Jonas wasn’t the culprit—just another unrted incident.


    So, the soil really disappeared, huh?


    I’d better look into it.


    If it can vanish under certain conditions, all the soil I’ve created might be at risk.


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