Chapter 6 – Herbalism Quest #2

I heard that the party is gathering at the south gate of Yoensu City.
The departure time was the morning of the day, so it was not the time to be pampered.
After taking the crossbow, I headed straight for the south gate.

Outside the city gate that becomes the entrance to the city.
A place where people leaving the road from early morning gather.

There, I looked around in search of party members.
The way to distinguish between people who received the same request was simple.
Each wooden shield received from the guild has a specific mark engraved on it, and you just need to find people who have the same marked wooden shield.

‘There he is.’

After wandering through the crowd, I was able to find the first party member.

A man with a small body like a child.
Because of his youthful appearance, I almost mistakenly thought he was a young boy.
However, after examining the man closely, he realized that he was an adult halfling. The pointy ears that stretch out in the shape of a diamond are proof that the male must be a halfling.
Halflings usually stop growing at less than half the height of a human.
If it’s that size, it’s probably an adult.

I spoke to the halfling cautiously.

“Are you the one who received the request for collecting herbs?”
“Exactly.”

His voice is different from Jammin’s appearance.
The halfling raised his head and looked at me.

“Isn’t it a request to gather moonlight plants? I received the same request. My name is Luke.”
“My name is Ethan. Are you the trustworthy incubus that Wendy talked about? It’s a strange thing. I thought incubus were a species that only had mating on their heads.”
“Ha, ha ha. I’m different from the normal incubus. Unlike my brethren who can’t control their lust, I live a healthy life. I’m so healthy that I still can’t get rid of the virginity label.”

I briefly introduced myself to Halfling Ethan.
However, Ethan took my introduction like a joke.

“A virgin incubus? This is one of the funniest jokes I’ve heard lately. How can you be born as an incubus and be a virgin? I heard that all of your species graduate from virginity before the age of 7. With your sly psychic ability to charm women.”
“You know that.”
“You look like you’re going to change women every month. Am I wrong?”

I couldn’t bear to answer that I was wrong, so I smiled vaguely.

Well, from my point of view, it sounds like Gura.
To think that the blonde bully Incubus introduces himself as a virgin.
Rather, a virgin succubus would be more plausible.

“Anyway, as you can see, I use a crossbow. In a party, I can take on the role of supporting fire from a distance.”
“I’m a swordsman. Although I’m small, I can last for a long time because my body is strong. Leave the front line to me. Well, I don’t know how dangerous things can happen in order to collect herbs anyway.”

Ethan was holding a shortsword and buckler in both his hands. Looking at the forearms exposed through the sleeves, it seems that the muscles are quite strong. At least it seemed to be stronger than normal halflings.

Ethan and I waited for another party member.
Without waiting long, the rest of the party appeared in front of the two of us shortly after.
It is good that people come together quickly.
However, when I saw the party member’s face, I couldn’t help but be momentarily embarrassed.

“Hey, woman…?”

Because a female party member appeared.
It was also a woman of striking beauty.

A beauty with red hair that falls down to her waist.
Contrary to her youthful appearance, her clothes are quite open. She was wearing a jacket that exposed her shoulders and belly button, and she was wearing short leather pants that left her white thighs exposed.
Her high nose and sharp eyes gave her a haughty impression.

“Hey, you guys are gathering for the herb gathering quest, right?”
“Yes? No, that’s right.”

As soon as I made eye contact with the red-haired woman, I stuttered.
It’s because the thought of being fucked for a moment passed through my head.

What’s the matter?
That’s the situation now that I met a female adventurer as a party member.

I wondered if Wendy had made a mistake when recruiting party members. Common sense makes no sense for a female adventurer to join a party with an incubus. Even if they organized a party, most of them were filled with sweaty men.

Continental women avoid incubus.
It was because of the nasty rumors floating around about the incubus.

Among the incubus, there is a pervert that collects hymens, and there is a crazy guy who bosses women who are just starting menstruation. It was the incubus that the race itself was dotted with a hitomi-like stigma.
Women on the continent are taught from an early age to be careful with their behavior when they meet an incubus.

That’s why I’ve never had a party with a female adventurer.

Even if you put an application in the party, if there is a female adventurer, you will be rejected with a single knife. The red-haired woman who appeared here must also avoid me.
Could it be that there was a mistake in the middle of conveying the words, and the information that there was an incubus among the party members was not heard.

I broke out in a cold sweat as I touched the horns on my head.

Isn’t this the party in danger of disbanding?
Can’t even start and have to go home?

“Seeing that the signs are the same… You must be members of my party, right? That’s what the brown-haired receptionist explained. Now, can we go with you guys to gather herbs or something?”
“Yes, yes.”

The moment I nodded, the red-haired woman’s gaze landed on my head.
She must have seen the dream demon horns hanging over my head.
Perhaps the next reaction will be obvious.
Like the facial expression when facing a disgusting creature.

“Wait for a sec…”

The red-haired woman opened her eyes wide and opened her mouth.

“What are those horns, how cool are they?”
“Yes?”
“It looks sharp because it looks like a goat’s horn. If you run into it, can’t it be used as a weapon? After all, there are many strange-looking alien species on the continent.”

However, the reaction was far different from what was expected.
That was the end of the woman’s reaction to the horn. She showed no special feelings about my kind. As I stood still, speechless, Ethan, who was by her side, continued the conversation.

“I’m Ethan. I’m a halfling from Blackshire. What should I call you?”
“You can call me Rebecca. I’m from the Kingdom of Jakarta.”
“Jakarta…? It’s the first kingdom I’ve heard of.”
“You may not know. It’s a country very far from here. There’s no need to know. It’s probably a town you’ll never go to even if you live your whole life.”
“Okay. Then let’s start to gather herbs.”

She was a woman with an easy-going atmosphere in many ways. Rebecca asked my name before leaving, so I said Luke. Still, she didn’t seem to care about my race at all.
Why did he look so defenseless in front of an incubus?
As I left to gather herbs and chatted with Rebecca, I slowly came to understand why.

*

“The kingdom of Jakarta? You mean a country in the middle of the desert?”
“Yes, it’s a country built by tribes in the desert working together. Sandstorms blow nearby, so it’s hard for outsiders to approach. It’s rare for people from the kingdom to come out to the outer continent.”

After a while, the party members, including me, boarded the wagon. It was a wagon that moved near the lake where the moonlight plant bloomed. The distance to the lake was quite far, so the three of us decided to share the cost and take a carriage ride.
There is nothing to do in the wagon except to observe the surrounding scenery.
I chatted with Rebecca during the transit time.

“Actually, I’ve only just come out to the outer continent. So I’m trying to adapt well. But every time I see a different race, I can’t help it because it’s amazing. I met a werewolf and thought it was a monster and pulled out my sword…”

Rebecca was an ignorant woman.
In her kingdom, where she lived, only humans lived, and it seemed that she rarely visited other species.
I could clearly sense that Rebecca was a foreigner from her foreign land.
She even thinks of what Rebecca whispered to me as she climbed into the carriage.

– By the way, can a child do adventure work?
– A child, who are you talking about?
– Ethan sitting in the front seat. You’re a total kid. Are you earning money alone because you don’t have parents? I’m proud
– Those people are all grown up adults. Probably older than Rebecca.
– Huh?
Can you see the pointy ears? That is proof that Mr. Ethan is a halfling. A race called halflings are only half human when they grow up. He looks like a kid, but he’s actually an adult.
– That, is it? Are you of a different race? I see…

At my hint, Rebecca slightly blushed, perhaps embarrassing her. After that, I had a little more conversation, and I was now in the state of solving my doubts.

Why doesn’t Rebecca avoid the Incubus?
No wonder. Rebecca didn’t know anything about the race called Incubus. She came from a far country and would never have heard her gossip about her lowly dreamer.

‘Are you happy? Thanks to that, the party didn’t disband.’

As I put on a relieved expression, Rebecca suddenly spoke to her. Somehow she was looking at me while wiggling her fingers.

“Actually, before she left. There was something she should have told you first.”
“What’s going on?”
“Actually, it’s my first time being an adventurer. Going to collect herbs now is my first request.”
“Oh, was it your first time?”

Only then did I feel that a few more questions had been resolved.
The look of Rebecca who was slightly hesitant when we first met. An act of trying to confirm that you are a party member by pointing at a sign.
If you’re a first-time adventurer, it’s understandable.
Because I also looked like an idiot when I carried out my first request.

“It’s a first move…”

I paused for a while, rubbing my chin.
In fact, Rebecca’s remarks are not very polite. In the adventurer industry, it was a national rule for first-time adventurers to say they were new when introducing themselves. The adventurers called him [Sukko] For keeping his mouth shut despite being a first-time visitor.

Sukko!
An abbreviation for ‘those snub-nosed bastards who pretend to be experts’.
There will be an opportunity to explain the detailed origin of the name later.
Anyway, the important thing now was the fact that Rebecca played Sukko.

“That’s not a very good move.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know.”

It was not intentional, but Rebecca was unable to make eye contact with me, perhaps because her conscience was pricked.
But I didn’t mean to be angry with Rebecca.
Perhaps the same goes for Ethan, who is sitting in the front seat with his ears open.

“Ethan, you say this is your first visit?”
“You heard everything.”
“Doesn’t it really matter?”

Ethan nodded his head as he leaned against his backrest.

“There’s no need to differentiate between first-time and proficiency when it comes to digging herbs. With arms and fingers, one person can do it. Of course, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that it’s my first time. I’ll skip this time.”
“That’s right, Rebecca. Actually, I don’t really care.”

Only then did Rebecca raise her head at Ethan’s voice.
His expression, which had been shrunken, turned bright again.

“I really don’t care? Then that’s good!”
“But from now on, no matter what kind of request you receive, if it’s your first time, you have to tell us in advance. For requests like subjugating monsters, the first time and the skill are strictly considered. If you keep your mouth shut, you may be buried forever in the adventurer industry. Please be careful.”
“Yes-.”

Rebecca nodded her head briskly, as if acknowledging.
I felt a strange feeling without even realizing it. From the moment she confessed that it was her first visit, Rebecca’s body started to smell special.
It’s that smell that immediately draws the attention of experienced adventurers.

It’s the newbie’s unique ‘naughty smell’.
To meet a novice adventurer who received his first request today.
I thought the dirty smell was vibrating inside the carriage.
As a senior who stepped into the adventurer industry first, it is impossible to leave a young adventurer aspiring. The time has come to show a veteran like a second-year adventurer.

‘Sorry, newbie adventurers are so damn ugly.’

I vowed to take care of Rebecca as much as I could.