Chapter 25 : The Curse of the Mushroom Is Scary

 

「Thirteen tolf mushrooms. With this many, I can rest assured」

Said Mira-san after we picked up as many mushrooms as we could find.

After that she handed me three of them.

「This. My gratitude」

「Eh? Are you sure?」

「If Hanna didn’t come with me, I couldn’t get the mushrooms」

It made me happy.
I gratefully received the mushrooms.

「Thank you, Mira-san. By the way, how much is this worth?」

Before we went out to this mountain, Mira-san kept it a secret from me, but it seemed that she had already trusted me now, so I asked her.

The money she should pay to the angry aunt was 10,000 pels.
Tolf mushrooms Mira-san had, including the one she got before, were 11.
That means it wouldn’t be strange if one tolf mushroom was about 1,000 pels.

She gave me three of them so I got about 3,000 pels.
That’s quite a lot.
Well, I was more glad because Mira-san thanked me rather than the amount of money.

「The market price for black rock mushrooms is about 1 pel per ten mushrooms, right? Could it be, tolf mushroom is 10,000 times that? So it’s about 1,000 pels per mushroom? Am I right, Mira-san?」

「No?」

「Ah. As I thought. Even though it’s a legendary class mushroom, 1,000 pels is just too ridiculous for a mushroom, huh. It’s just mushroom after all」

But when I thought 1,000 pels was too greedy, Mira-san’s answer shocked me, because it went far beyond my expectation.

「One tolf mushroom costs 30,000 pels」

「Heeー 30,000 pels, huh. That’s amazing………………….. 30,000 pelsー!?」

「Yup. 30,000 pels per mushroom」

30,000 pels for one!?
She gave me three, so I got…….. 90,000 pels!?

「No way… The price is just too ridiculous for one mushroom!」

No matter how much people want to grow taller, is it normal that it costs that much?

Ahh~ I also want a slender and tall body…….. No no no! How many days do you think you can stay at the inn with that money!? Don’t lose to the temptation, Hanna!

But… maybe I can’t grow any taller if I don’t rely on this mushroom…….. No! Absolutely no! Don’t you dare eat it!

Two thoughts collided in my head.

I grabbed Mira-san’s shoulders strongly and saidー

「Mi, Mira-san….. Let’s grow this mushroom artificially!」

Originally, Mira-san said she intended to do that.

If Mira-san could increase the number of tolf mushrooms, the market price would drop and I could lightheartedly eat it.

「I don’t think it will be easy. Tolf mushrooms can only grow in places with a lot of magical power. Besides, I heard that tolf mushroom is cursed」

「Cursed? But why is it cursed?」

「From what I heard, people who ate tolf mushroom not only grow taller, but also become violent」

「S, Seriously?」

「It’s a dubious story. Maybe it was spread by someone who wanted to monopolize the tolf mushroom long ago」

「If it’s only a fake story, it’s good then. But that was so wicked」

Hm? Speaking of wicked, I feel like I’ve forgotten something.

I tried to remember but I couldn’t remember it.

But when I was wondering what it was, the bears spoke.

『As I thought, it’s the Magic-seal Jar』
『There are also poisons inside the delicious mushrooms』

「ーーEh!? Really!?」

「Hanna? What’s wrong?」

Mira-san tilted her head.

I was the only one who could see and hear the bears, so it was natural if Mira-san was surprised that I suddenly made a loud voice.

Now I just remembered.

The reason I chose this quest was because the bears said something disquieting when I was checking the bulletin board in the guild.

I followed where the bears looked at, and there it was…

An old jar that looked exactly the same as the one I saw in the Cave of Darkness. It was hidden inside the trunk of a tree.

「What is the meaning of this? Is the jar has something to do with tolf mushroom?」

I spoke in a low voice so that only the bears could hear me.
But…

Silence……

Why are the bears silent now?

Looking at their expressionless dumb face made me irritated a little.
Are you guys trying to imitate Mira-san!?

However, even if the bears didn’t answer me, I understood the situation in the next momentー

Brrrrrrrrrrrー!

Suddenly, the ground shook greatly.

「Uwa!」

「W, What happened?」

The shaking wasn’t just once.
The ground was shaking randomly but continuously.

Bokoriー
A part of the ground floated up all of a sudden.

We stood up in a hurry.

「This is not just an ordinary earthquake! Mira-san, we have to leave this place!」

「O, Okay」

Whether it was a natural phenomenon or not, it was dangerous to stay at the summit, so I pulled Mira-san’s hand and went down the path in a hurry.

Then, within a few seconds, I heard a loud sound from behind.
I looked back and I was surprised with what I saw.

「A beetle!?」

A giant beetle that had a height of several humans emerged from the ground and chased us.

「The heck is that!?」

As I shouted like that, I had a guess.

This is the same as when a Rock Dragon appeared out of nowhere after I found an old jar in Cave of Darkness.

Magic-seal Jar is a jar that seals powerful monsters from the old time. There’s no doubt about it.

And what was released from the seal this time was this giant beetle.
I’m sure that’s what happened.

 

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One Comment

  1. Well, no one else around to steal the credit this time. Uuuunless someone shows up, I guess. Or maybe a giant beetle isn’t as noteworthy as an Earth Dragon… regardless of how impressive it could be, Cecil is going to be an idiot about it.

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