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In the end, we couldn’t find Corne grass even after we went around the lake. It had characteristic small red flowers so we couldn’t have overlooked it.

“So there weren’t any in the end.”
“Same here.”
“We couldn’t find Moria grass either. What’s going on here?”

The sun had already started to go down, so it would be dangerous to go back to Stollar now as it would turn into a night journey.

It was better to give up and camp for the night here.

Fortunately, we had reserves of food on hand, so we could spend a night here without problems.

However, we did not consider that we’d have to camp outside, so we hadn’t brought any camps with us.

We had to endure the night dew through cold protective clothes like mantles.

We plucked the plants near the watering hole and piled up branches that we gathered from the vicinity on the bare ground.

We were going to make a bonfire and fend off the night’s cold. For that, we needed to gather as many branches as we could as fuel.

Following that, Finia started to prepare food at the bonfire.

“We only have dried jerky, bread, and cheese with us, so I can’t make anything big.”
“Your cooking will be great either way, Finia.”
“I’m happy you say that, but as a cook, I still find this unsatisfying.”
“Then, I’ll go look around, maybe I can find something to hunt.”

This was the biggest watering hole around these parts. There might be some animals that escaped the Adventurers around somewhere.

Besides, the Adventurers shouldn’t have exterminated even some wild rabbits.

“Then I’ll come along too.”
“Okay. It will be reassuring to have you with me, Michelle.”
“Ehehe.”

Being from a hunter family and a skilled archer, it would make the hunt easier if we find a prey.

“Then I’ll help too, so…”
You want a share from what we hunt?”
“Ugh! W-Well, that would be helpful.”
“Good that you’re honest.”
“Then I, Michelle, and Mark will handle the hunting. Cloud you protect Finia.”
“Leave it to me.”

I trusted that to Cloud who puffed his chest, and we headed into the thicket some distance away.

The sun was already going down, so we needed to find the prey soon or it’d grow dark on us.

“Now…then.”
“Right.”
“Let’s get to hunting!”
“Let’s goo!”
“Huh, what?”

I was more suited to fighting from a slight distance rather than close, while Michelle was fully specialized in long distance.

Rather than hunt together, it was more efficient to do it separately.

Mark didn’t realize our intention and looked around in confusion.

I did not pay that any mind and focused on spreading my detection range and discovered a lizard as first prey.

I pulled out a piano wire from my pocket and swiftly decapitated it by swinging it like a whip. Meanwhile, Michelle managed to shoot down a largish wild bird that looked like a dove.

“W-Wait, you two, aren’t you a little too good at this!?”
“It may not be apparent, but we’ve been hunting for over five years in Raum.”
“Why are you still first rank with such a background!”

Non-designated monsters weren’t evaluated highly. As such, what we hunted were only good for filling our bellies and pockets.

That said, it was irrelevant now.

We were better than some Adventurers when it came catching the signs of wild animals before they did ours and dealing a killing blow.

The ex-Hero like me aside, even Michelle and Cloud were on par with skilled Adventurers when it came to hunting small animals.

“Well, you get used to it I guess.”
“How many years would that take? I’m scared to even imagine it.”

Even as I talked, I swung my wire towards a tree branch next. This time, a snake got bisected and fell. It was a non-poisonous snake, so it would work for cooking. The only fault was that it had a lot of small bones.

After a while, Michelle returned looking flustered.

She had two wild birds and one wild rabbit hanging from her waist.

“Nicole, Nicole! Come here!”
“Huh, what is it?”
“Hurry, hurry!”

She pulled me by hand with no questions asked and dragged me away.

I barely kept up with her momentum while almost falling down.

We passed the cluster of trees and reached the side of the lake, and discovered wild grass with small red flowers growing in abundance.

“Is this Corne grass!?”
“Yeah, there was nothing when we checked at noon, but now there’s so many of them!”
“What’s going on… Wait, could it be that they are a kind that only blooms at night?”
“Blooming only at night? There are such flowers?”
“Yeah, morning lilies and such also only bloom at specific hours right? It’s not strange for such flowers to exist.”

I heard plants related to cactuses started blooming at night and withered in the morning. Corne grass was probably of the same nature.

“In other words, that identification book didn’t lie, but simply omitted one characteristic, huh?”
“So it was intentional?”
“It was in the test, so most likely it was. Good job there, Michelle.”
“Hehehe, yaay!”

I was a certified Adventurer in my previous life, so I had undertaken rank-up exams too. But the contents of the test varied by region, so the contents of this test were unfamiliar to me.

Still, they intentionally hid the information huh? That’s quite a mean test.

I raised my hands and high-fived Michelle. Discovering this was most certainly her achievement.

Mark finally arrived belatedly. And his jaw dropped when he saw the Corne grass blooming behind us.

“What the… They weren’t here at noon.”
“Yeah, it seems it was that kind of test.”
“So they only bloom at night? No wonder we couldn’t find any.”
“But this should also serve as a hint for your side, Mark.”
“Huh?”

Mark tilted his head in wonder, failing to understand what I meant. But this was a big hint for them.

“I mean, Moria grass is probably impossible to find by normal means. It’s probably the type that you can only find once you discover its characteristics.”
“Ah, I see!”
“For now, we’ll gather the necessary amount so can you help?”
“Sure, I will.”

We decided to abandon hunting for now and gather the Corne grass before us.

We didn’t need that much of it, but we didn’t know how long they would continue blooming.

And flowers that bloom during the night tend to wither in the morning. Still, no matter how we hurry, they would probably still wither before we reach the city, but the test probably took that in mind too. If they fail us, we could just do it again once we find out how to preserve them.

“Michelle, let’s take them with roots and ground attached so they can last as long as possible.”
“Right. The flowers would be happy that way too.”

I was moved by Michelle’s pure reply that was speaking from the flower standpoint rather than the mercenary point of view.

It made me realize that she too was a girl, after all.

“By the way, are these flowers edible?”

But her next question made me sigh… a very deep sigh.

It turned out that Michelle was Michelle wherever she went.