"Firis! Are you alright!" - ???
"Daddy!" - Angel girl
Some old man...whoa. What is that? A bear-man? ...No, good old [Identification] is saying he's 100% human. Kinda handsome as well. He's got this British-looking blond appearance, yet his body is massive! Is the farmer's life that demanding?
The little angel girl which Alf and I saved looked at the bear-like man and ran up to him. So he's her dad. I can't see the resemblance at all.
As for the mystery of their different races, it's nothing too crazy. Humans are one of the few species that can reproduce with other humanoid races and have a child.
"Are you her father? In that case, I recommend that you keep a better eye on her." - Alf
"Did you help my sweet little Firis? I cannot thank you enough! My name is Benjamin Ariens, one of the five head farm owners here on Plain Island. And this is my girl, Firis." - Benjamin
"It is nice to meech you." - Firis
She stuttered. And got embarrassed over it enough for her head to start looking like a tomato from all the blushing. How cute.
We gave our introductions to the father-daughter duo and were just finished when someone wearing the same kind of overalls as bearman daddy came up to the big boss to give a message.
"An arrow wound on one of our cows?!" - Benjamin
"Y-yes, boss! It has to be the reason why all the cattle started to go crazy back there." - Worker
Go figure. But seeing as none of us had bows or arrows, and we were on the opposite side of the cow field as the harmed bovine was, bearman daddy seems to have concluded we were not responsible for the incident. At least, that's what I get from his expression.
"If that's all, then we need to go. We heard there is some trouble with the flora here and want to join in." - Garami
"Really? Then are you three the adventurer party Mr. Blot spoke of?" - Benjamin
...Why am I not surprised?
---
We were taken to daddy bearman's house, which was halfway from being a mansion, and got put into the situation. Or, just I. The little angel girl wanted to show Mira and Alf around the house. Why is she so social with Mira? I can understand Alf since he's her rescuer and all, but Mira didn't do anything. And I'm not jealus! Not at all! *Sniff*...
"So you're one of the leaders on this island?" - Garami
"That is quite the blunt way of saying it, but yes. The Ariens Farm is one of the five main farms on Plain Island, so I, along with the other four farm heads, are sort of running the whole operation here on the island." - Benjamin
"And that's why Blot took contact with you. What did he say regarding us?" - Garami
"He told me a party of two female adventurers, one albino demon and one blue-haired spirit woman, presumably accompanied by one male, would arrive on the island to participate in the Devitree hunt." - Benjamin
Grr, that know-it-all. We've played right into his hands!
"We've not yet decided on that part. Our original objective was finding Blot, but after hearing about the instant forest problem, we got curious. On the rewards." - Garami
"The rewards, yes. That is important for an adventurer, I understand that. We are asking for a bounty of 100 Sols for each felled Devitree, with the handover of the wood monster as part of the requirement." - Benjamin
"...That's it? Just 1 Silver per plant?" - Garami
"Y-yes, but it is quite a generous offer. Devitrees are F-rank monsters, but they are unnaturally large, so we increased the pricing due to the amount of wood they gave." - Benjamin
That sounds better. Hunting down E-rank monsters gives 150 Sol per beast normally, but F-ranks are a different story. 100 is a generous offer.
"Not to mention that there is a special reward for the party who manages to solve this situation." - Benjamin
A bonus for weeding out the source of the problem? I'm in for that.
"Tell us all you know about Blot, then we'll sell you some of the woods for a special price. The first 20 units, that is." - Garami
---
The next day, Mira and I had breakfast at the inn while waiting for Alf to stop hitting the snooze button. While waiting, I told her the story I got from daddy bearman.
"Blot is going to be the one handing over the special reward to the party who solves the mystery behind the instant forests?" - Mira
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
"That's what he told me." - Garami
Blot is giving those five farm heads a hand with this "Devitree" problem not only by sponsoring the big reward for cracking the mystery behind the monster plants but also by recommending not only us but many different kinds of adventurers to the heads.
And after some search-and-research, it seems that some of the adventurer parties are in the same position as we are: they were tricked to arrive at this island, but are staying due to the good pay.
"Nothing bad has happened to the other parties, and they have stayed here for a while now." - Garami
"To be precise, around the time when we snuck into the casino's secret room during the 'fake pass card' incident!" - Bloom
Yeah, yeah. Continue nibbling on your cookie... Hold on. Is that your third? But they're all bigger than you!
"Perhaps Blot knows the truth about those plants, but lacks the manpower to solve this crisis?" - Mira
"And that's why he's luring people to this island through various schemes? Then why not go upfront and tell us?" - Garami
"In cases like this, the answer is that there is some ridiculous monster hiding behind those fast-growing trees, or that smartass can't have it be known that he's working to solve the problem. You said that it is confidential that Blot is helping the farmers?" - Mira
"Yes, but da... Mr. Benjamin said it was fine to tell us since Blot himself had requested the farm heads to tell our party alone." - Garami
"Weird..." - Mira
I know! Why only us?
"Should we tell Mr. Benjamin that we have changed our minds and are leaving the island?" - Bloom
"Stop joking! This is one of the few chances to obtain a Guild Certificate! Do you know how rare those are?" - Mira
"Pretty rare, from your reaction." - Garami
"Keep it serious! We NEED to get that piece of paper!" - Mira
She sounds quite upbeat about the idea. Must be for similar reasons that there are still so many adventurers here on the island, despite them having cut down tons of wood already, as seen from all the new wooden gizmos all over the place.
"If you want so. I got the feeling that Blot will only show his face if we're the ones to unravel the mystery." - Garami
"What makes you say that?" - Mira
"My hunch." - Garami
And there's the part about nobody else knowing about that grey goo. Something we only know due to Blot directing Alf's fishing trip, and by extension, us, toward it.
"Only time will tell us the truth at this point. Hey, should we look into people we want to recruit to our future Guild?" - Mira
"Aren't we setting our sights a little high here? We've yet to even start investigating this mess properly." - Garami
"Call it being prepared for the future. And I think Alf may be a good candidate?" - Mira
"That lazy bum? Do you have a thing for him?" - Garami
"What?! No! Eww! Don't even joke about that!" - Mira
A swing and a miss! Maybe my hunch isn't that great after all. ...Now I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this wood incident.
"I was talking about how we could use him as a 'respectable cover' for the Guild." - Mira
"What does that mean?" - Garami
"Face it. Could the two of us act like dependable adventurers in front of a potential customer?" - Mira
"No, not at all." - Garami
We both have [True Chaos] for a reason. And along with it, we are classified as "Chaotic" by the Karma Value. Other people could be classified as "Evil" or "Lustful", so I'd say the two of us are in a better position. Not that I'd use any of us for the customer service business unless it's for the fanservice.
"That's my point. Alf is more on-earth than the two of us combined, plus he's a reliable old chap." - Mira
"As in, someone we can trick into pushing all the boring discussion work on?" - Garami
"That's my sexy girl! You got it!" - Mira
It is an idea worth considering. We first need to get that Certificate, and we need to consider Alf's thoughts on the subject as well. But, as I said, it is an entertaining idea.
"Whatever the case is, we still need to cut down those trees before anything else." - Garami
"Leave that to me! My silver arm is ready for anything!" - Mira
"...Speaking of that, what is the deal with that arm of yours?" - Garami
"Snap! I completely forgot to tell you. That is the... Air-something-something." - Mira
"Huh?" - Garami
"I mean, it is the reward I got from the you-know-where place." - Mira
Mira got closer and whispered the last bit into my ear. I see. It's the reward for the Extra Trial.
"You don't know what it does?" - Garami
"Nope. All I understand is that helps me cut things into tiny pieces when I use it, but that's all. There were no explanation notes for me to read back then. But the list of rewards said it was 'extra' worthwhile to take." - Mira
That sounds troublesome. If you don't have a skill like [Identification], it will be impossible to know what the Extra Skills you win from the Trials do. Mira must have only instinctively tapped into one of this Air-something's powers.
"Bloom, did you get that?" - Garami
"Yes, ma'am! I have info about it here!" - Bloom
Bloom woke up from her cookie-induced coma and materialized the Kigal-Note for me and Mira to see.
"...[Arm of Silver Light - Airgetám]?" - Garami
"Holy... Maybe I should consider becoming a mage?" - Mira
Mira spoke with bathed breath after reading the information in the Note. It seems Bloom hit the jackpot right away. And so did Mira when she chose this as her reward.
"You want more MP so much that you'll go down the path of the mage?" - Garami
The cutting-enhancing effect of this Airgetám skill seems reasonable in the MP cost department, but that second effect... Yeah. Having more MP will not hurt. And Mira is even using her MP as an SP-replacement thanks to her skill, so getting more of it won't hurt.
"Sort of, but having to do those magical chants will kill me! I won't be able to remember them while on the battlefield!" - Mira
"I concur. I've tested out some spells after I got Spectermancer, but it's not my style. If I had a good Magic Catalyst, things would be different." - Garami
"A catalyst?" - Mira
"You know, stuff like wands and staffs. They can either strengthen the magic you chant for, or do the chant for you." - Garami
The Kigal-Note speaks of this effect as if the chanting is replaced by a "magic gauge" that slowly fills up as you concentrate on the spell. One can still chant the spells in a normal fashion even when having a Catalyst equipped, but I'd rather have something prepare the spells I wanna use. The [Parallel Thinking] skill may also be useful for keeping track of the magic's timing and all that.
Oh, and chants are supposedly only for "traditional magic", those belonging to skills such as [Fire Magic] or [Healing Magic]. Necromancy such as "Create Undead" or "Summon Phantom" doesn't need chants, even if they still can be improved by having a Catalyst. Then again, necromancy is more gimmicky than normal magic, so I see why the gods or whoever decided for the chant system decided for it to work in this fashion.
"Hmm, this is a tough spot... Oh well. If I stick with Garami, troubles such as having to save up for an extra class isn't worth the time~." - Mira
Ah, she's speaking of that unexpected bonus I have. Hmm, if the "bonus" also works on Guild members for a Guild led by me in the same fashion as it does for when I'm the party leader...
Yes, now that sounds like a plan. And that also means that those trees' death sentence has been decided! Now, what is taking that snoring lazybones so long to wake up? Did he freeze his alarm or something? Geez...