Chapter 11- My Father’s State

When he returned to the mansion before evening, Mireille greets Ren with a stunned look on her face.

"Ren, you beat all of them!"

"Yes, I did. These guys attacked me in a strangely belligerent manner."

The number of them is twelve in all.

"Even your father rarely hunts this many, but ... yes, that's right! How did you bring them home?!"

"Half of it I carried and the other half I tied up with ivy I found in the woods, and dragged it along until the ivy snapped."

"Oh, so that's how you did it."

(... I lied when I said I found it in the woods.)

In fact, the ivy was also created by my wooden magic sword.

I was exploring the possibility of creating something else, and this was the result of experimentation based on the natural magic of the game era.

This is not particularly difficult.

Roots of trees, come forth! Ivy, come out! And swinging the sword was all I had to do.

(Nothing else came out, but it's just nature magic (small), so I guess it can't be helped.)

But of course, if you turn off the wooden magic sword, the ivy and tree roots disappear.

(And then there's the matter of being careful not to use it too much.)

I know that overuse of nature magic is a bad thing.

I know that I'm consuming a certain amount of magic power because I feel a similar sensation throughout my body as when I summoned the magic sword from the tree.

My magic power must also continue to grow.

In front of Ren, who reconfirms this, Mireille looks at the Little boars and exclaims in amazement:

"It's amazing! I can sell this fur for more than when your father hunted it!"

"Really, why is that?"

"Because it doesn't have any big scratches on it. He does a great job with the sword, but there are always some scratches on the fur. But Ren, you fight with a wooden sword, yet they have no scars at all!"

She looked at Ren and was puzzled, though it didn't seem to make her feel any different.

"I was surprised when you told me you didn't have to use a steel sword…."

"I feel safer if I'm familiar with it. And maybe the skills I have are the ones that increase my power."

"I know…. it helps me and your dad a lot. But you must never do anything reckless."

"I know. I'm going to wait until the Baron's reinforcements arrive and I'm just doing my best to make it up to there."

"I know, but you've hunted a lot more than your dad has."

"It's just a coincidence. The little boar only attacked me because they thought they could defeat me."

So the good thing was that it saved me the trouble of looking for them.

(I hope I can beat them tomorrow too.)

For now, just another week and a bit.

Ren wished to the Lord God Elfen in his heart..

"Ah! Come to think of it, didn't you get lost in the forest?"

"I'm fine. I was looking up at Tsurugi rock to check the direction, just like you told me."

"That's good. It would have been very difficult if you got lost in the forest."

"Hahaha…."

After this, I realized that my body was surprisingly tired. It seems that I was more tired than I thought after entering the forest for the first time to defeat monsters.　

"Huh… I have to do my best tomorrow."

As Ren muttered this, a strong, determined expression appeared on his face.

********************

On the second day, the same number of little boars as on the first day. On the third day, the number of little boars was further increased and on the fourth and fifth days, each time I entered the forest, I increased my war results.

The seventh day went by without any injuries and the sun was just beginning to set.

"Bo-chan, you're amazing"

"As expected of the Lord's heir!"

"You worked hard today!"

These were the voices of the villagers that reached Ren's ears when he returned from the forest.

Recently, he has been approached more often than when he was just taking a walk. All of them were praises at the outset, so he didn't feel bad about it.

However, he didn't feel too good about it because he'd been living a tense life.

(Looking at it this way, I'm pretty drained...)

Ren replied back to the villagers and turned over his armor around to look at his bracelet.

Magic Sword of Wood (Level 1: 97/100)　

He didn't see any proficiency in the art of summoning magic swords.

I know that the next level of the Magic Sword Summoning Technique is still far away, since I can only gain "1" proficiency in both the Magic Sword Summoning Technique and the Wooden Magic Sword after defeating a Little boar.

I have a long way to go.

But there is a lot of fun waiting for me when I get to the next level of the wooden magic sword.

Because…

Iron Magic Sword (Open condition: Magic Sword Summoning Technique level 2, Wooden Magic Sword level 2)

This is the Iron Sword.

The thought of a new magic sword being opened up makes me more motivated in my daily battles.

This seems to be just a sword just by looking at the letters, but like the wooden magic sword, it should have special power ... and I expect it to have a special power.

Currently, there's no explanation after touching the letters of the Iron Magic Sword.

This will probably become readable after it is opened.

(I can't imagine iron having any special power though)

In any case, I'm looking forward to it. The thought that I would definitely be released tomorrow lifted my spirits.

Ren's steps were so light that he was about to perform a skip at any moment.

Even so, he's carrying many little boars tied up with ivy, which is an odd sight from the villagers' point of view.

—-But.

The light footsteps were stopped with a snap as he approached the mansion.

"...What's going on?"

Behind the window of the mansion, Ren saw a figure busily running down the hallway. Even from a distance, he could see them. It was Mireille and Grandma Rigg, no doubt.

How on earth could those two people be so busy…..?

"What if…"

Ren thought something had happened.

So he put down the little boars he was carrying roughly and hurried into the mansion. Mireille, who was running in a hurry, was unaware of Ren's return.

Sensing something was wrong after all, Ren followed her and proceeded up the stairs she had started to run up.

"Mom! What's wrong?"

He held her hand as she touched the doorknob, just before she entered Roy's room.

"Re, Ren! Ah ... it was time for you to come home…!"

She was acting suspiciously.

She was not giving Ren the irritated look, but she seemed to want to get rid of Ren's hand and enter the room immediately, her gaze moving restlessly from side to side.

"Um —-"

Ren opened his mouth and Grandma Rigg, who had been nearby for some time, said to him.

"Bo-chan, please excuse us…"

With a devilish expression on her face, grandma Rigg pushed Ren's body hard and opened the doorknob with her own hand and walked into the room.

In her hand was a wooden vat filled with infused herbs.

"Mistress, please stay outside for a while! Don't go into the room, you'll only get in the way!"

The door closed with a loud "clank!

Ren was stunned.

Mireille, who was standing next to him, gently reaches for him and hugs him, kneeling on the slightly dirty floor.

Her body was shaking slightly.

"Something happened to Dad, right?"

Mireille's arms around Ren's body were straining. The trembling increased even more.

"Mom, Is there anything I can do?"

"….I don't think so."

" —- What do you mean?"

Mireille looked at Ren as she explained the situation to him.

Tears spilled from her eyes and wet the floor.

"Listen to me very carefully. —- your father may not make it."

Mireille continued in a trembling voice.

It all started about an hour ago.

"As soon as Grandma Rigg came to check on him, your father's condition suddenly changed."

Mireille, spinning her words with a stout heart, said that Roy's condition deteriorated in the blink of an eye and now she's only able to sustain his life by using a lot of precious medicinal herbs.

If he continues like this, it seems that he'll be able to manage by using medicinal herbs until it passes.

"Then If we have enough medicinal herbs, he would be fine….."

"No .... we don't have any more….. we only have enough herbs left for tonight….."

This is exactly why she said he might not make it.

Ren was crestfallen. He was not saying that he should be rewarded for his hard work, but he was still angry that this was happening.

His fingernails dug into the clenched fists of his hands, dripping blood onto the floor.

"Mistress! Please bring me the mixing box in my house! Ask my husband and he will tell you where, please hurry!"

Grandma Rigg said, her face peeking out of the door.

"I'll ask him. Ren, don't disturb grandma Rigg and stay quiet in your room!"

No one here cared about her behavior, which was like using the lady of the house as a servant.

Mireille stood up as if it was natural and hugged Ren once more before running out of the mansion.

Ren, on the other hand, stepped into the room without hesitation after Grandma Rigg had returned to the room.

Mireille told him to stay in his room, but he couldn't help but listen.

In Roy's room, grandma Rigg was mixing medicinal herbs without a moment to catch her breath.

But this was no time to hold back.

"Grandma Rigg!"

Ren called out to her without hesitation.

"Aren't there any herbs around here that we need?"

"They don't grow wild around here anymore! It used to grow at the foot of Tsurugi rock, but it was wiped out by the cold winter a dozen years ago!"

Her reply was different from Mireille's and she was clearly annoyed.

When she's doing her best to help Roy, she may feel annoyed if someone calls out to her as if they're trying to get in the way.

(Herbs characteristics ...)

Ren looked at the herbs before they were prepared by Grandma Rigg.

Fortunately, there was also a herb that had not been used, so he could see what kind of herb it was.

It was easy to remember because of its distinctive leaves that resembled a pentagram.

(—-the medicinal herb was the Rondo grass ,,,)

Rondo grass is a very common medicinal herb in the legend of the Seven Heroes.

Even a hero born in the countryside can buy it from a store in town, but the village where Ren lives is not just in the countryside but in a very remote area.

It's at the very end where adventurers and merchants rarely approach.

Of course, they had some stockpiled, but not enough to satisfy the need.

(It was an item that had been used many times, and there was no way he could have mistaken it for something else.)

If so, he could go and collect them.

Ren hadn't been able to believe what Grandma Rigg had said about the rondo grass being wiped out until he saw it with his own eyes.

I can't just sit here like this.

But he was also afraid.

In addition to entering the forest at this hour, the threat of the Thief Wolfen hadn't disappeared.

It was natural to be scared ... to go to Tsurugi rock.

However.

(...it's not the time to get lost in thought)

'If I do nothing, my father will die,' these words snatched at my brain.

And that time is getting closer by the minute.

This fact brought a new fear to Ren's heart.

(Let's go. There's no other way.)

Ren put all his strength into his clenched fist and summoned up all his courage to make a decision.

Then he left Roy's room without saying a word to Grandma Rigg and suddenly spotted his mother running down the field path outside the window.

"... Sorry, Mom."

After apologizing for a few words to the back of her head, Ren looked at the forest.

He nodded and looked further into the forest beyond his gaze.

He saw Tsurugi Rock, which would be towering beyond and ran out of the mansion with great vigor.